5 German Movies For Learners
German Movies for intermediate learners are great way to immerse in the language. Here are a few great German films that we can recommend.
Learning German simply by watching movies sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately, it is. It takes a little bit more to learn a language. But: Watching German movies or TV shows can help a great deal towards achieving fluency.
Best German Netflix Movies for Learners
There are some great German Netflix films to learn & improve your German with. The great thing about watching films & movies in German is that not only are you improving your German, but you're at the same time watching something that's genuinely fun! It doesn't feel like learning at all - at least that's the idea.
Finding German language films, however, can be quite of a challenge. Not only do they need to spark your interest, but they also have to be at the right level language-wise.
That's why we included the difficulty and level for each of the films listed here.
1. Das Leben der Anderen
"Das Leben der Anderen" is a drama set in East Berlin in the 1980s, during the final years of the German Democratic Republic. The story follows a dedicated Stasi officer who is assigned to monitor a prominent playwright and his partner.
As he becomes increasingly involved in their lives through surveillance, the officer begins to question the morality of his work and the oppressive system he serves.
2. Goodbye Lenin
Also set in the GDR, "Goodbye Lenin!"" is a German tragicomedy around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It follows a young man who goes to great lengths to protect his fragile mother from the shock of political change after she awakens from a long coma, unaware that the German Democratic Republic has collapsed.
3. Lammbock
A German comedy classic, Lammbock follows two longtime friends who run a pizza delivery service as a front for selling cannabis in Würzburg. When an unexpected mishap threatens their operation, the duo is forced to navigate a series of unpredictable and often absurd situations.
4. Toni Erdmann
Toni Erdmann is a German-Austrian comedy-drama about a retired music teacher who tries to reconnect with his estranged, career-driven daughter by playing elaborate pranks and adopting a bizarre alter ego named “Toni Erdmann.”
His unconventional approach challenges her controlled, corporate lifestyle in surprising and often uncomfortable ways. One of the best German independent movies of the last 10 years.
The film received widespread international acclaim for its unique blend of awkward humor and emotional depth. Admittedly, from a German learner's perspective, it's not the easiest film to watch. But: if you are at an upper intermediate level you might want to give it a try.
5. Die Welle
Die Welle (The Wave) is a German drama based on true events. It follows a high school teacher who starts an experiment to demonstrate how easily authoritarian systems can take hold, even in modern democratic societies.
As the project unfolds, the students become increasingly absorbed in the movement, blurring the line between theory and reality.
The film is inspired by a real-life classroom experiment from California in 1967, known as The Third Wave. Set in contemporary Germany, Die Welle raises important questions about group dynamics & conformity.
We often recommend "Die Welle" to beginner learners (or early intermediates), since the dialogues are easy to understand and the plot itself is not very complex to follow.
6. Victoria
Here is a great German film you can watch on Netflix: Victoria is a thriller that follows a young Spanish woman living in Berlin who, after a night out, meets a group of local men and becomes entangled in a situation that quickly spirals out of control.
The film is best known for being shot in one continuous take. Although Victoria doesn’t have a lot of German dialogue—most of it is actually in English—we’ve included it here as a bonus.
What really stood out to us, however, was how authentically it captures Berlin’s nightlife and club culture. The vibe, the settings, and the energy all feel genuinely “Berlin” and give you a real sense of the city’s atmosphere (at night).
Best Netflix Show & Films for German learners
There are some great German Netflix films to learn & improve your German with. The great thing about watching films & movies in German is that not only are you improving your German, but you're at the same time watching something that's genuinely fun! It doesn't feel like learning at all - at least that's the idea.
Finding German language films, however, can be quite of a challenge. Not only do they need to spark your interest, but they also have to be at the right level language-wise.
