A Coffee in Berlin (2012)

An aimless university dropout attempts to make sense of life as he spends one fateful day wandering the streets of Berlin.

Director:

Jan Ole Gerster

Writer:

Jan Ole Gerster (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Justus von Dohnányi

25 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Schilling	...	Niko Fischer
Katharina Schüttler	...	Elli
Justus von Dohnányi	...	Karl Speckenbach
Andreas Schröders	...	Psychologe
Katharina Hauck	...	Café-Shop Angestellte
Marc Hosemann	...	Matze
Friederike Kempter	...	Julika Hoffmann
Arnd Klawitter	...	Phillip Rauch
Inga Birkenfeld	...	Hanna
Ulrich Noethen	...	Walter Fischer
Leander Modersohn	...	Jörg Schneider
Martin Brambach	...	Kontrolleur Jörg
Rolf Peter Kahl	...	Kontrolleur Stefan (as RP Kahl)
Lis Böttner	...	Frau Baumann
Theo Trebs	...	Marcel

Storyline

This tragicomedy is a self-ironic portrait of a young man who drops out of university and ends up wandering the streets of the city he lives: Berlin. The film deals with the desire to participate in life and the difficulty to find one's place.

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Plot Keywords:

actors | 2010s | germany | german | berlin | 

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Taglines:

No job. No girl. No coffee.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

13 June 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Coffee in Berlin

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,501, 27 June 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$146,135, 3 August 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Schiwago Film, Chromosom Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jan Ole Gerster's debut was the unexpected box-office success in Germany 2012 with more than $2mio. It also won the German Film Award for best pictures, best script and best directing 2013.

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Quotes

Julika Hoffmann: [to a thug] what kinda guy are you? Let me guess. You were born an alcoholic because your mom couldn't stay off the booze during her pregnancy. How could she, when she got beaten up by daddy when he came home from the pub?

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Connections

Referenced in Hard & Ugly (2017)

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Soundtracks

The Birth of the Elephant
Composed by T. Berkmann, C. Colaço, F. Menzel, P. Schaeper
Performed by The Major Minors

User Reviews

Running away

There is a theme in the movie and I'm not talking about the growing up part. I'm talking about the part where the lead character has to make decisions. Which he is unable too. You could argue, that is part of growing up, but it's just a theme that runs through many people and will touch a nerve.

Of course the one thing our lead character wants, he doesn't get. There is always an obstacle, something that will not let him get it. For some that might feel symbolic (and the resolution this has or hasn't at the end of the movie might feel that way too), but that depends on how you view things. And that is something that has been done clever by the filmmaker here. Shooting in black and white is an art choice, but I feel it works for the general feeling of the movie