Watch German Movies and Become Fleunt in German? 🤔

Ist es möglich Deutsch durch Filmen und Serien zu verbessern?

Sometimes it can be tempting to watch a German movie and series that are really great while using subtitles to follow-up what they are saying. However, most of the series and movies that you are watching are pretty much at expert level (C1-C2). There are a few where B2 should suffice, in the sense that you may understand 30 to 50 percent of what they are saying😅, but yeah, the intermediate level is where you do need to start doing this instead, rather than at begineer's level.

Why that's the case? Actually you could still watch German movies and series even if you are at A1 or A2 level, but if your goal is to just have fun while using the subtitles then by all means GO FOR IT! But if your goal is to really understand what they say and learn German, you'll need to play those movies and series at a x0.25 speed, and have to patienetly go through a 1-hour episode for 3 hours😱, I mean good luck with that😄.

Before sharing the methods of learning German via movies and series, here are the some of the awesome entertainment that the German world has to offer:

Series:

• How to sell drugs online (Fast) --> story about German teens selling drugs in darkweb with cryoto. To be honest, I felt like this one has the easiest German transcribtion ever used, since the conversation is happening between school teens most of the time.

  
  

• Barbarians --> ancient story of the fight between Romans and Germans(they were Barbarians tho before this😅), a 2020 German historical war drama television series that is based off fictionalized account of events during the Roman Empire's occupation of Germania, and the subsequent rebellion of some Germanic tribes led by Arminius.

  
  

• Biohackers --> If you ever wondered the possibility of mixing German technology (both realistic and unrealistic😅) this series would be a great one to watch. Based on a medical student at the University of Freiburg, very interested in biohacking technology and becomes involved in the world of illegal genetic experimentation while investigating the cause of her brother's death.

  
  

• The Billion Dollar Code --> The series is based on true events. It deals, among other things, with the legal dispute between the Berlin company ART+COM and Google . The content of the lawsuit filed by ART+COM was the accusation of patent infringement, in which it was to be proven that the Google Earth software was technically based on Terravision , developed by ART+COM . An interesting take in the world of IT development back in 2000s. This series has combination of German and English, and so the language diffculty is much less compared to the others.

  
  

• Kleo --> a German action-thriller comedy television series with some realistic setting of the Cold War in Berlin. In 1987, after successfully assassinating a double agent in a West Berlin club, East German Stasi assassin Kleo Straub is falsely imprisoned by her agency. When she is released after the Berlin Wall is taken down in 1989, she plans her revenge on the conspirators who framed her.

  
  

• Türkisch für Anfänger --> Set in Berlin, Türkisch für Anfänger centers around 16-year-old Lena, whose life seems to fall into pieces when her mother suddenly becomes engaged to a Turkish police chief. Two worlds collide in this fantastic show that not only showcases the importance of acceptance, but also highlights the realities of modern multi-culturalism with all its obstacles. It's really an interesting angle in terms of the cultural mixture in the German community.

Movies:

• Blood & Gold (in German it's titled ''Wo ist das Gold?!'') --> It's a small story about chasing after gold set during WW2. A feature film from 2023 starring Robert Maaser and Marie Hacke, set in the final phase of the Second World War, the action thriller was directed by Peter Thorwarth based on a novel in 2017.

  
  

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Story about WW1) --> War breaks out in Germany in 1914. Paul Bäumer and his classmates quickly enlist in the army to serve their fatherland. No sooner are they drafted than the first images from the battlefield show them the reality of war. It's great but should warn you tho, this movie is kinda like D-Day scene from 'Saving Private Ryan' but much more throughout the movie. The German lanugage in this one I would say is pretty tough especially in the scenes where high authorities will be having discussion, but for the rest of the part there's mixture of happy jolly chit-chats and gorry war scenes, Enjoy 😖

  
  

• Sixty Minutes --> Desperate not to lose custody, a mixed martial arts fighter makes dangerous enemies when he ditches a matchup to race to his daughter's birthday party. This movie is simple, fun, easy to watch, and just all around very straight to the point.

  
  

• Betonrausch --> Betonrausch is a 2020 German tragic-comedy, appealing to audience that have better taste of dark humors, this film shows the battle that happens in a capitalistic rental industry.

So, how to you practically learn German by watching such movies and series? I would say that there are 2 ways to go about it, one is the easier extension or app based learning and the other is the more self-effort learning.

• App-based learning --> There apps whereby thery'll help you guide through on the LingoPie, FluentU, or WB Kids Deutschlamd that literally guides you throughout a short series or movies.

  
  
  
  

• Self-effort learning --> So if you need using any apps or extensions (ex. Language Reactor) then you can learn German your own way by doing the following:

  • Watch a series and movie first in English (or in your native langauge) to fully comprehend what are said, then play them again in German.

  • Play the video in x0.75 speed (or x0.5 speed depedning on how fast they are speaking) this way you can capture what they are saying.

  • Maybe pause every now and then to find out and learn new words.

  • And finally watch the whole thing again in normal speed in German without any effort but rather just sit back, relax and enjoy the show☺️... I mean u still need to have fun while learning a langauge right? Otherwise, all stress on you🫵