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The best German films & series
The best of German cinema and television, in one place.
German cinema and television reward patience and precision. The picks here range from unsparing wartime drama to decades-long documentary observation, from a Bavarian village soap to a labyrinthine sci-fi mystery — yet a common thread runs through them: a willingness to sit with difficulty rather than resolve it cheaply. Whether following a young man finding himself in Berlin's queer scene (Drifter), a tank crew pushing through no-man's land (The Tank), or a mystery that spirals across three generations (Dark), German screen culture earns its emotional payoffs.
German films
Film
Loves of a French Pussycat
A serial lecher and sex columnist is the subject of a bet — can any woman get him to propose?
Film
14 and Under
An episodic coming-of-age comedy focused on youth and early experience, made in a knowing, observational style.
Film
Grand Jete
A mother who left her son as a child reappears, seeking a closeness that keeps pushing further in uncompromising dramatic terms.
Film
Heidi
A Swiss orphan taken from her mountain grandfather ends up as a companion to a wealthy Frankfurt household.
Film
The Tank
A Tiger tank crew crosses lethal no-man's land to rescue a missing officer from a secret bunker.
Film
Drifter
Abandoned in Berlin after following a boyfriend, a young man finds his own identity through a new queer community.
Film
All Quiet on the Western Front
Young men enlist with patriotic excitement, then confront the brutal reality of the Western Front.
Film
Und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind... Die Kinder von Golzow - Das Ende der unendlichen Geschichte
The final chapter of a decades-long documentary following real people from their school years into old age.
German series
Series
Dahoam is Dahoam
A warm, long-running soap tracing the everyday lives of a fictional Upper Bavarian village community.
Series
Tagesschau
Germany's oldest surviving television programme, delivering daily news since 1952.
Series
Scene of the Crime
A long-running crime anthology set across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, broadcast continuously since 1970.
Series
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
A long-running Berlin soap opera following the lives of a fictional neighbourhood through decades of drama.
Series
Sturm der Liebe
Romantic drama set among the owners, family, and staff of a Bavarian five-star hotel.
Series
Dark
A missing child sends four families on a frantic hunt through a mind-bending mystery spanning three generations.
Series
Verliebt in Berlin
An unsophisticated but good-natured woman's incongruous job at an ultra-chic Berlin fashion house drives the comedy.
Series
DAS!
Every evening a prominent guest takes the red sofa for talk and daily updates on what's hot in the north.
Frequently asked
Where should I start with German television?
Dark is the natural entry point — its time-spanning mystery and cinematic production quality make it immediately gripping. For something more procedural and long-running, Scene of the Crime offers standalone episodes set across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
What makes German war films distinctive?
At their best, they foreground the cost of conflict at the individual level rather than glorifying it. All Quiet on the Western Front is the clearest example here — young men march in eagerly, and the film refuses to let that enthusiasm stand.
Are there good German series for viewers new to foreign-language TV?
Dark is widely recommended as a starting point, with a propulsive mystery structure that carries viewers through. Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Sturm der Liebe suit viewers who prefer ongoing character-driven soap formats.