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 (as Jan Ole Gerster)

Writer:

Jan-Ole Gerster (screenplay) (as Jan Ole Gerster)

Stars:

Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Justus von Dohnányi

25 wins & 23 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:

2010s | germany | german | beverage | streetcar | 

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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

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

Niko Fischer: Do you know what it's like... to have the feeling that all the people around you are honestly kind of weird? But when you think it over, then it becomes clear that the problem is with yourself.

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Connections

Referenced in Hard & Ugly (2017)

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Soundtracks

Gwisdek
Composed by T. Berkmann, C. Colaço, F. Menzel, P. Schaeper
Performed by The Major Minors

User Reviews

Everyone refuses to grow up in Oh Boy

Oh Boy is somewhat reminiscent of Prozac Nation. The protagonist is an unlikable, spoilt child, leeching off others while breezing through life. It is an anti-"Coming of Age" film, showing how people refuse to "grow up" - even supposed adults. Niko's father is childish, his friend an underachieving actor and the former classmate he runs into is in a way still the little girl with a crush on him. It doesn't end there, even Germany itself refuses to "grow up", clinging to its Nazi past and sticking to absurd bureaucracy.

On top of having an amusing story, Oh Boy has lovely cinematography. Berlin looks great in black & white, and with the lazy jazzy soundtrack it sometimes seems like a 50s film. Quite a promising start from Gerster, who won just about every German film award around.

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:

EUR300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,918, 15 June 2014

Gross USA:

$150,275

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,826,333

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