A Coffee in Berlin

Released Jun 20, 2014

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

List

77%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A fateful day pushes an aimless college dropout (Tom Schilling) to stop wasting his time and finally engage with life.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Nov 15

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent A Coffee in Berlin on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Amiably slight, A Coffee in Berlin compensates for its lack of narrative drive with a sure-handed screenplay and echoes of early Woody Allen.

Read Critics Reviews

Abe A

Good movie, not great. Easy on the eye, not profound but very easy to watch, funny at times. Shades of Woody Allen. One I'd rewatch for pleasure.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

Full Review

Marcos M

Great acting, really good portrait of Berlin

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

Kevin L

A bit interesting and engaging at times, tedious at others. "A Coffee In Berlin" gives us a nice performance by Tom Schilling as a character I'm familiar with. I've seen quite a few Nicos in my time. The specific qualities he conveys- lost or confused, great indifference, flakiness, forced attempts at interaction- are typical of a lot of this type of slacker guy with little or no sense of real direction or purpose. As I said, though, there is some tedium here. It really seems like a rather jagged, unconnected scenes edited together, though there is some flow when the Julika character is introduced. This is the best stretch of the film for me. Her character is interesting and certainly offers Nico a chance at establishing something real and significant in his life. Who knows what it could lead to? But, he blows that, too. Nice work by Dohnányi, Klawitter, and Hoseman. But the best performance for me was Friederike Kempter's Julika. Kempster brings to life a lithe, lovely, and brimming young woman with sense of nervous joy in life. Nice if uneven. 2.9 stars

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful movie. Funny, poignant, and poetic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lots of layers here and all in search of a cup of coffee.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A dialogue driven film where the slacker protagonist drifts away in Berlin. He meet many people, he go many places and everywhere there are loads of words. Shot in black and white, nicely scored and a gentle humor makes it snappy and interesting. It reminds me a lot of something the younger Jarmuch would do. Some very smooth shots - especially in the end where the short stills appear rapidly. With some works of graffiti artist Blu on the screen too. Nice. I liked it, but it felt rather long even with a short playime. I've read it was a graduation project - that's pretty impressive, even if it's not especially fresh or original. 6.5 out of 10 meatballs.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Jan Ole Gerster

Director

Tom Schilling

Niko Fischer

Katharina Schüttler

Elli

Justus von Dohnányi

Karl Speckenbach

Marc Hosemann

Matze

Friederike Kempter

Julika Hoffmann

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

36%

34%

God's Pocket

55%

91%

Swim Little Fish Swim

92%

72%

Frank

70%

56%

Len and Company

TRAILER

for Len and Company

52%

48%

Ashby

TRAILER

for Ashby

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on DVD & Blu-Ray: Snowpiercer, Mad Men, and More

Critics Consensus: How to Train Your Dragon 2 is Certified Fresh

View more photos

Martin Tsai

Los Angeles Times

In spite of its insufferably whimsical tendencies - exemplified by its original title, "Oh Boy" - the film may have turned out to be a deeply profound modern postscript about fascism.

Dec 23, 2014

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Globe

Niko's problem is not just that he's spoiled and lazy, but that he's a wimp about it. He only maintains viewer sympathy because everyone else in the film is so obnoxious.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 10, 2014

Full Review

Stephanie Merry

Washington Post

It manages to make an entertaining story out of nothing in particular. And just when you get comfortable passively observing a passive observer, the minutest of twists becomes its own call to action.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 10, 2014

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

A somber tale told with jazz, blues, black and white photography, and an incredible performance from Schilling.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 20, 2021

Full Review

Bernard Boo

Way Too Indie

A largely enjoyable, understated picture that will tickle those with a taste for DIY indies and the French New Wave.

Rated: 7/10

Mar 28, 2019

Full Review

Stephen Saito

Moveable Fest

With a lighter touch than that strained metaphor might suggest, Gerster has considerably better navigational skills than his main protagonist, making "A Coffee in Berlin" an enjoyable romp.

Nov 20, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

A fateful day pushes an aimless college dropout (Tom Schilling) to stop wasting his time and finally engage with life.

Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Screenwriter: Jan Ole Gerster
Distributor: Music Box Films
Production Co: Schiwago Film GmbH, Arte, Hessischer Rundfunk, Chromosom Filmproduktion
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 20, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 6, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $146.1K
Runtime: 1h 28m

Most Popular at Home Now