Five Hidden Gems of German Cinema
What comes to mind when I say Germany? Getting completely hammered at Oktoberfest, in a lederhosen-wearing, flagon-of-beer-drinking fashion? Or ‘don’t mention the war’ a la Fawlty Towers? One thing that probably won’t be mentioned is German cinema. French cinema is seen as the height of sophistication, to be enjoyed with a glass of Merlot. Korean cinema is now in vogue after Bong Joon-ho’s legendary Oscar win for his film Parasite. But, when German language cinema is mentioned, it’s met with a furrowed brow, a little bit of confusion, and an utterance of “do you mean das Boot?”. Actually, over the last decade, Germany and its neighbour Austria have been quietly producing some excellent films; down-to-earth, blunt and earnest, and textually different from their continental counterparts. These are my top five picks to introduce you to a cinematic land that maybe you haven’t explored.
If we’re going to mention one stalwart of modern German cinema, we would have to talk about director Christian Petzold. Time and time again, he directs clean, quiet, yet captivating dramas. He’s also one of the most productive German directors, helming a German cinematic movement, the Berlin School. Since his first film came out in 2000, he’s directed nine films, with a new release, Undine, primed to come out this year. His most famous and acclaimed work is his unofficial trilogy, “Love in the time of Oppressive Systems”; Barbara, Phoenix and 2018’s Transit. Often Petzold recasts the same actors to recapture chemistry between two leads. It’s a fascinating technique, allowing the relationships to gently simmer between them. My favourite, Barbara stars German actress Nina Hoss, a doctor in 1980s East Germany who has been relocated to the provinces after attempting to flee to the West. Watched and reported on by colleagues and Stasi officers, Nina Hoss’ Barbara is paranoid and blunt. Hoss says very little, but every atom of her performance shines. We watch as she watches and assesses those who are watching her, how she mulls over each word before she speaks. It is an astounding performance, and is perfectly married with the camera’s constant gaze and the broken melodies from a Chopin Nocturne. It’s an astonishing character study and a real hidden treat for those discovering German film for the first time.
My second pick is Lore, a mesmerising film about a controversial subject matter. Headed by a German cast, and directed by Black Widow director Cate Shortland, Lore follows the 900km journey of our teenage titular protagonist. Lore (played masterfully by Saskia Rosendahl), is the daughter of two high-ranking and powerful Nazis. She has been indoctrinated her entire life, and has never been expected to think any different. As the Allied troops close in, and reports of Hitler’s death ricochet off the living room walls, her parents begin to burn piles of well-documented incriminating evidence. Lore is forced to embark on a journey across a fractured Germany with her four younger siblings in tow. She unwillingly becomes a mother figure and reluctantly finds herself a guide, Thomas, a Jewish concentration camp survivor. Lore battles with the realities of war, her own deeply entrenched racist beliefs and her growing sexual desires. Often films struggle in portraying historically accurate characters: too nice and too modern for their time’s standards, they take the viewer on an unrealistic ride. Lore realistically reflects the realities of a young girl brought up in Nazi Germany, while never demanding the viewer to like her or agree with her. If Lore was successful in that alone, that would be a triumph in itself, but with its gentle haunting score and beautiful cinematography combined, Lore is a masterpiece.
If brutal wartime images don’t appeal, check out Austrian Barbara Albert’s Mademoiselle Paradis. Mademoiselle Paradis is based on a true story set in Mozart’s Vienna. Candy coloured and stuffed with stifling propriety, Albert’s film is an engaging examination of the life of blind piano prodigy Maria Therese Paradis. Her parents, driven by a desire for their child to be “normal”, put her through various horrific medical procedures. As a last-ditch attempt, she is put under the care of Dr. Mesmer, an innovative Austrian doctor. Not only is the story fascinating, but Mademoiselle Paradis is empathetically shot, with the natural light almost being too bright for the viewer to bear, mirroring Maria Therese’s painful recovery. While being a visual and audible joy, Mademoiselle Paradis carefully reconstructs a world where women are thrust into gilded cage after gilded cage. Although Maria Therese is continuously gawped at by her contemporaries as if she were a circus animal, Mademoiselle Paradis is an inspirational piece despite the society that she is encased in.
Another Austrian offering is Andreas Prochaska’s The Dark Valley. The traditional American Western is transposed and relocated to a valley in the Alps, where snow-covered mountains and impenetrable pine forests replace tumbleweed and saloons. English actor Sam Riley plays the stranger who mysteriously arrives at an isolated town in the Austrian Alps. Masquerading as a photographer from the US, the townspeople remain suspicious of him, and they reckon he’s up to something a little more untoward than documenting pretty alpine scenery. The Dark Valley has the same beats as a Western, but there’s a Grimm Brothers edge to the story. A simple, once-upon-a-time style voiceover adds a mystical quality to this violent revenge story. The Dark Valley possesses the same enjoyable quality as a Tarantino film or a Clint Eastwood flick, but it’s infused with a little fairy-tale madness making it all the more interesting.
Something a little more modern is Nora Fingscheidt’s first feature film, System Crasher. It recently cleared the board at the German Film Awards, with eight awards. A system crasher is a child who has been repeatedly failed by the care system and is continuously moved on to different facilities. They don’t have a chance to settle, and as a result, suffer from behavioural problems. Benni is nine and has gone through many foster homes, care homes and behavioural specialists. Her mother can’t deal with her, and Benni is left to the authorities, who are at their wit’s end. Helena Zengel’s performance as Benni is one of the most arresting performances I have seen by a child actor. Her performance is so tactile, so mercurial, that it’s difficult to believe that Fingscheidt’s film isn’t a documentary. It’s a powerful firecracker of a watch, and if you’re a lover of Lynne Ramsay’s or Mike Leigh’s work, it's easy to see these British directors’ influences in Fingscheidt’s film. Still, there is an unmistakable German quality to the whole film, from the soundtrack’s techno beats to the obsession with bureaucracy, and it never feels like a British story which has been lazily transposed to a German setting.
A deep dive into recent German cinema can be exciting, and German cinema provides a different perspective on a country which is typically associated with modern politics, comical bureaucracy and a lack of humour. Despite your potential preconceptions, there are many entertaining German-language films hailing from both Austria and Germany to check out. All of the movies mentioned are available to watch online, and I hope you have fun discovering some new favourites!
(Lore, The Dark Valley and Mademoiselle Paradis are available to rent or for free on Amazon Prime. System Crasher is available to rent via Curzon Home Cinema. Barbara is available on Chili GB.)
Written by Lucy Clarke
Lucy Clarke is a recent graduate in German Studies and an avid film lover. When she’s not watching or writing about film, you can find her trying to befriend all the neighbourhood cats or singing Eurovision hits from 2008. You can find her blog here: lucyatthepictures.com