Are you a fan of foreign films? Love romantic comedies? Consider checking out a German romantic comedy! Here are three that scored big at the box office and have also gained popularity outside of Germany.
Keinohrhasen (2008)
In English, Keinohrhasen literally means "Rabbit Without Ears" or "No-Eared Rabbit." (It is not really a German word...at least, it wasn't until the film.) The signature Keinohrhasen, a stuffed toy one of the film's characters designs, has become a popular purchase in Europe due to the success of the movie.
Starring Til Schweiger and Nora Tschirner, this film is about a journalist (Schweiger) who takes his craft a bit too far and ends up having to do community service at a kindergarten. There he meets a teacher (Tschirner) whom he actually knew (and picked on!) as a child. The two clash, again, and what follows is an entertaining, charming, and often laugh out loud funny story.
Im Juli (2000)
Starring Moritz Bleibtreu (Lola rennt/Run Lola Run) as Daniel and Christiane Paul as Juli, Im Juli, a romantic comedy adventure film, combines a little bit of magic, the lure of the summer holidays, and a quest for true love.
A chain of surprising and often comic events lead Daniel and Juli from Hamburg to Istanbul in an adventure across Eastern Europe that proves memorable for both. The result is a great film about taking chances for love.
Mostly Martha (2001)
Martina Gedeck (recently seen in the Academy Award-winning Das Leben der Anderen/The Lives of Others) stars in the movie that the U.S. film industry recently adapted into No Reservations (2007) starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart.
Gedeck is Martha Klein, the best chef in Hamburg, whose life is turned on its head when her sister is killed in a car accident...and Martha is given custody of her young niece.
To make matters worse, another chef, Mario (Sergio Castellitto), comes along and gives Martha some competition...and a couple of life lessons.
Additional Film Recommendations
The movies listed above are great to watch when you're in the mood for a high-quality film that's also light and fun. Other German romantic comedy films worth seeing include Nach fünf im Urwald, starring Franka Potente, and Barfuss, starring and directed by Til Schweiger.
For more information about each of these films, and to find out about more German romantic comedies, check out the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Whether you speak German or not, the films are both entertaining and all-around feel-good movies.
Suzanne Swartz - During college, Suzanne spent a semester in southwest Germany. After receiving her B.A. in History and German Studies, she went back to ...
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