Eine Frau in Berlin (A Woman in Berlin) - Now on DVD!

Those familiar with the history of WWII and its aftermath in Germany and, specifically, Berlin, will appreciate "Eine Frau in Berlin", based on the best-selling diaries of an anonymous German woman who survived the Soviet invasion of Berlin at the end of World War II. This gripping drama tells the story of a photojournalist's (Nina Hoss) forbidden relationship with a Soviet officer (Yevgeni Sidikhin). After being sexually assaulted by members of the invading Red Army, she turns to the officer for support, but soon finds herself falling for him. Peripheral characters also fill out this bleak and bitter portrait of Berlin and what the war brought upon the Germans.

Burghardt Klaussner Films at the Goethe Institute - The Edukators and Requiem

OK, so maybe you haven't heard of Burghardt Klaussner, but he is a renowned actor in his native Germany. You can see his work for yourself on Thursday, April 14, at The Goethe Institute at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. The film "Requiem" will follow on Thursday, April 21st at 7:00 p.m. The actor will be visiting the Goethe Institute with his band “Zum Klaussner” for a concert and talk on Thursday, April 16th.

German Films at the San Francisco International Film Festival - April 26 - May 5

The annual San Francisco International Film Festival will soon be upon the city, and that means a couple of films from Germany for fans of German cinema to check out. First up, The City Below (Die Stadt unter Uns)is a tense drama set in the upper echelons of Frankfurt’s banking sector.
Click here for details. In Blessed Events, a depressed woman in her 30s, goes out for a night of listless drinking and dancing on New Years Eve, wakes up in a stranger’s car after a one-night-stand and discovers afterwards that she’s pregnant. What happens next? Click here for details. Both of these films are playing at the Kabuki Theaters at Geary and Fillmore. Special support is generously provided by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany–San Francisco.

German Films on Netflix - A Recommendation or Two ... or Three

If you have a subscription to Netflix, don't miss the foreign language selections. Here are a few recommendations for German films and you can click here to access a more comprehensive list of German films available on Netflix. Just scroll down to "Foreign Regions" and then click on "Germany".

JOHN RABE (2009)

Florian Gallenberger directs this gripping drama about John Rabe (Ulrich Tukur), a German businessman living in Nanking, China, who in 1937 used his Nazi party affiliation to save some 200,000 Chinese civilians from slaughter at the hands of the Japanese army. As Rabe labors to establish an official safety zone to shelter the innocent, he forms an unlikely friendship with an American doctor (Steve Buscemi). Anne Consigny and Daniel Brühl co-star.
Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Steve Buscemi
Director: Florian Gallenberger
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD and streaming

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (DAS LEBEN DES ANDEREN) (2007)

Set in 1980s East Berlin, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut feature (which earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) provides an exquisitely nuanced portrait of life under the watchful eye of the state police. When a successful playwright and his actress companion become subjects of the Stasi's secret surveillance program, their friends, family -- and even those doing the watching -- find their lives forever changed.
Cast: Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD and Blu-ray


NORTH FACE (NORDWAND) 2008

In 1936, young German climbers Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) face off against a rival Austrian duo in an attempt to be the first team to scale the infamous north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. As the men make the treacherous climb, journalist Luise (Johanna Wokalek) -- Toni's childhood love -- covers the biggest story of her career. Philipp Stölzl helms this drama based on a true story.
Cast: Benno Furmann, Florian Lukas
Director: Philipp Stölzl
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD and streaming