It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.
Today we’re going to focus on Non-English language movies! There’s really so much content out there that gets dismissed because people would need subtitles or dubbing to watch them and that’s just not fair. As there’s a whole world of movies that can be explored this way and I find it really hard to pick, I decided to focus on films made in my mother tongue – German. (Please, no one come for me for not including Austrian movies … I feel the shame enough as is.) I also wanted to spotlight films that were sweet or fun and not too much of a downer. So, at least on my post, we have a theme within a theme!
Der Junge muss an die frische Luft/All About Me
This movie is the the biopic of a German comedic actor and had me laughing and crying in the movie theater. It was done so well, the boy is a fantastic actor and will go far. I was just in love with it in a way I never expected to. It hits all the emotional chords.
SMS für Dich/Text for You
I’ve seen this movie so many times, I have lost count entirely. Although it’s kind of messed up to play with the mind of a grieving person like that, I … found it endearing? I really, really love this movie. It’s one of my all time favorite German RomComs and has cemented Karoline Herfurth as a great director for me (even though I don’t love all her directorial work).
Vielmachglas/A Jar Full of Life
I remember being surprised by how deep this movie actually was, despite some really ridiculous scenes. In the end, the message was great.
Die wilden Kerle/The Wild Soccer Bunch
These movies (and I mean all of them!) shaped my childhood. Everyone was crushing on the guys or girls and it didn’t matter if you liked soccer or not – something about them was just magic. I played the soundtrack up and down and just wanted to go on an adventure.
Ruby Red Trilogy
This is based on a popular YA time travel book series and while the movies are super corny, they get better over time. I’m not sure what to think of the English dubbing, but maybe you can find it with subtitles instead?
Life and Other Disasters 
Yay Germany! I’m proud of my German heritage (and ashamed of how bad I’ve gotten at remembering the language over the years) I need to watch your picks, I haven’t seen them.
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My picks are mostly pretty cheesy, but I stand by them haha
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There’s some Japanese and Korean horror films I like, an Israeli film or two I have fond memories of, and this French film I remember watching called Blame It On Fidel. Great story about a girl in 1970s Paris learning to adjust when her upper-class parents become Communists.
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No German ones at all?
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I actually haven’t seen that many. I have seen the one about Hitler’s last days, but that’s the only one I can think of.
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That’s kind of sad to me.
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Wait, I saw the Austrian horror film Funny Games recently. Does that count?
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It does. Not a Haneke fan myself, because I don’t like his style of storytelling, but it definitely counts!
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Any others you think I should watch? Any that would live up to my strange tastes, lol?
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Hmmm … maybe you’d enjoy Goodnight Mummy (2014)? Or Cold Hell? I don’t know. I doubt I would have watched movies you’d enjoy.
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I’ll look those up.
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I love that you picked all German movies but not only have I not seen any of them, except for the last two I haven’t even heard of them 😅
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WHAT!?!?! Please, go watch at least some of them (maybe not necessarily Vielmachglas). I swear it’s good German cinema.
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Will do! 😀
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I love watching German movies (even more now than I’ve finally committed to learning the language), so I’m adding these to my list as I haven’t seen any. SMS Für Dich is the one I’m the most interested in seeing — I’m not a huge fan of RomComs but I’ve enjoyed the German ones I’ve watched so far.
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Oh wow, good on your for learning an additional language! I’m brushing up on my Norwegian at the moment, but I doubt I could carry a conversation haha Netflix shows with subtitles it is for me. I hope you’ll like SMS für Dich. It’s truly one of my faves, but then again, I love RomComs …
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German was popular this past week and I am glad as I am proud of my German heritage. Of course, I have not seen any of these films but would love to one day. The little boy in the first film is funny and reminds me of a little boy I had seen in Salzburg at the Mirabell Gardens. He was riding a unicorn and using a stick as if he was riding fast. His mom told him to come and he just said “Ja, Ja, Mutti, I Kommt Gleich.” Of course, he didn’t move and just kept repeating what he said when his mom called for him. Sorry, I went off on a tangent. I would like to see all of them.
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Awe, I love a little tangent. Julius Weckauf, the boy from the first movie, is going to do great things. He is so talented at such a young age already.
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I’ve read the Ruby Red Trilogy, it’s a fun YA Fantasy series so I definitely want to watch the film adaptations. Unfortunately they are not easy to find.
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They used to be on the German Netflix, but I think they moved to the German Disney+ (where you can watch them with subtitles), but that stuff doesn’t always work with a vpn. Disney is especially strict.
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