Herr Lehmann (2003)

In October 1989, the part of the West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg called SO 36, had been largely shut off by the Wall from the rest of the city for 28 years. A lethargic sub-culture of ... See full summary »

Director:

Leander Haußmann

Writers:

Sven Regener (novel), Sven Regener (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Ulmen, Detlev Buck, Katja Danowski

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Ulmen	...	Herr Lehmann
Detlev Buck	...	Karl
Katja Danowski	...	Katrin
Janek Rieke	...	Kristall-Rainer
Annika Kuhl	...	Heidi
Hartmut Lange	...	Erwin
Martin Olbertz	...	Marco
Uwe Dag Berlin	...	Jürgen (as Uwe-Dag Berlin)
Michael Beck	...	Klaus
Michael Gwisdek	...	Der Trinker
Stephan Baumecker	...	Kiffer
Tim Fischer	...	Sylvio
Karsten Speck	...	Die Lederuschi
Margit Bendokat	...	Mutter Lehmann
Johann Adam Oest	...	Vater Lehmann (as Adam Oest)

Storyline

In October 1989, the part of the West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg called SO 36, had been largely shut off by the Wall from the rest of the city for 28 years. A lethargic sub-culture of students, artists, bohemians and barflys had flourished among crumbling buildings. Part of that microcosm is barkeeper Frank, semi-formally called 'Herr Lehmann' by friends and patrons. He hangs out drinking, sports utter disregard for anything beyond SO 36 and lazily pursues an affair with cook Katrin. His lifestyle is gradually disturbed, when his parents show up for a visit, things go awry with Katrin and his best friend Karl starts to act strange. Meanwhile, political turmoil mounts on the other side of the Wall.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | artist | fantasy sequence | german reunification | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

Bis denn, dann...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [de]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

2 October 2003 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Berlin Blues

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boje Buck Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andre Schneider was considered for the role that finally went to Tim Fischer.

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Goofs

When Katrin is waiting for Herr Lehmann at the East-Berlin "Weltzeituhr", we can see a Ks-type color light signal at the Berlin-Alexanderplatz railway station in the background. These type of signals was not introduced until the mid-'90s.

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Crazy Credits

A lot of "Beck's" Beer is being drunk through-out the movie. The beginning of the end credits reads: "Von Beck's gab's nichts. Scheiß der Hund drauf!" (rough translation: "Beck's didn't contribute anything. We give a dog shit!")

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Connections

Followed by Neue Vahr Süd (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Sad Songs and Walzes"
Performed by Cake

User Reviews

one of the best German movies of 2003

I definitely recommend this one to people interested in German movies.

It is a very simple story of a waiter working in a 'beer pub', but nicely told and filled with warmth which the actors carry. Hard to imagine that Christian Ulmen used to be a MTV moderator before starting acting, and Detlev Buck is so great in this one!

Want to see a 'different' movie on West/East-Germany? Then, go try it! While you might not get anything of the power of 'La Vita E Bella' or 'Amores Perros', it is a nice little comedy and gives good insights on how people in the catering branche did work before the 'Mauerfall' (wall fell)..