Welcome to Germany (2016 film)

Welcome to Germany (German: Willkommen bei den Hartmanns) is a 2016 German comedy film written and directed by Simon Verhoeven.

Welcome to Germany
GermanWillkommen bei den Hartmanns
Directed bySimon Verhoeven
Written bySimon Verhoeven
Produced byQuirin Berg
Stefan Gärtner
Max Wiedemann
Michael Verhoeven
StarringSenta Berger
Heiner Lauterbach
Florian David Fitz
Palina Rojinski
Elyas M'Barek
Eric Kabongo
Esther Kuhn
CinematographyJo Heim
Edited byDenis Bachter
Stefan Essl
Music byGary Go
Production
companies
Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. KG
Sentana Film
Seven Pictures Film
Distributed byWarner Bros Entertainment Germany
Release date
  • 3 November 2016 (2016-11-03)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman

The film grossed more than US$20 million in Germany.[1]

Plot

The Hartmanns, an upper-middle-class Munich family, include Angelika, a former teacher, and her husband Richard, a prominent orthopedic surgeon, both in their sixties; their daughter Sofie, 31, an unmarried permanent student currently studying psychology; her older brother Philipp, a successful business lawyer undergoing a messy divorce, and his 12-year-old son Bastian (Basti). They live in a large house in a posh suburb.

Richard has difficulty facing the aging process. He refuses to retire, and undergoes face-lifting procedures performed by his friend, the cosmetic surgeon and philanderer Dr. Sascha Heinrich. Angelika is criticized by her husband for her starry-eyed idealism.

One day, at a refugee center set up in a container structure, Angelika donates used clothes and encounters her former colleague Heike Broscher, who teaches German language courses. Since no additional volunteers are needed in the center, Angelika decides to adopt a refugee. She discusses the plan with her family over dinner. Initially, Richard and Philipp reject the idea categorically, but Sofie takes her mother’s side. Angelika has already made an appointment with Bernd Bader, the head of the refugee center. Richard reluctantly accompanies her, and after several families are presented to them, they finally agree to take in Diallo, a lone Nigerian in his 20s.

Meanwhile, Richard is annoyed at work; he repeatedly snubs one of his subordinates, the ambitious and handsome young Dr. Tarek Berger, eventually leading to an explosive dispute within earshot of other employees. Richard grabs his heart with a distorted face after each of his tantrums. Tarek, in turn, leads a group of refugees in a weekly jogging and workout session, in which Diallo also participates. Richard and Tarek discover they had actually met two decades before, at a birthday party of Sofie’s, when the nine-year-old Tarek accidentally destroyed a valuable vase. Richard is resentful and unforgiving toward Tarek.

Diallo, who willingly works in the garden and around the house, develops a good relationship with Angelika. Still, he cannot understand many things about the Germans, such as the fact that Sofie is unmarried and childless at 31. When Basti makes a hip-hop video with his friends at school, Diallo acts as a full-time supervisor. Shooting the video almost gets Basti expelled, but Philipp is able to prevent that. Basti also has bad grades, something Philipp deplores but does little about. Otherwise, Philipp has no time for his son, as he has to constantly fly to Shanghai, where he is heading an important project. Rushing to his flight yet again, he defies airport security and ends up in psychiatric care, where he’s diagnosed with burnout.

Basti gives a presentation on refugee issues at school, including Diallo, who describes how his village was destroyed and his family killed by Boko Haram.

Heike has organized a celebration for Diallo at the Hartmanns’ home, to which she invites members of an African group and a circus, complete with a zebra. A neighbor calls the police because of the noise. The officers notice that the wild party was being thrown for the asylum seeker Diallo.

Meanwhile Sofie has been stalked by Kurt, a cabdriver who had picked her up after spotting her being harassed on the street by some immigrants. Kurt thinks Diallo is an Islamist. With a few friends, Kurt pickets the Hartmann house with torches and "security" calls. A fight erupts between the two, and after the police are summoned by the neighbors again, Sofie has Kurt hauled away as an intruder.

Diallo wants to fix up the two singles, Sofie and Tarek, but each tells him that they want to find a partner themselves, as is customary in Germany. The two eventually meet by chance and fall in love with each other. At a disco, they encounter Richard, who declares he "wants to enjoy life" and is introduced to younger women by Sascha. Richard has since moved out after differences with Angelika at home. Diallo meets him by the river and tells him to go home to Angelika, who belongs to him. Richard corrects Diallo, saying that at the most she belongs with him.

Diallo's asylum application is rejected. Bernd Bader files an appeal for him, and a court hearing is scheduled. Basti calls his father in Shanghai and pleads with him to fly home to represent Diallo. At first, Philipp refuses, but then he has a change of heart, leaving his assistant to lead the contract negotiations and heading straight to the court when the judge wants to deliver the verdict.

Philipp still works on Diallo’s behalf and proposes viewing the video of Basti's presentation on the smartphone. But this had already happened, as Basti had this idea, and the judge was prepared to decide in favor of recognizing Diallo’s asylum petition anyway. When Richard returns to Angelika, while Tarek introduces himself to her, once again there is a demonstration of right-wing extremists outside the house. Meanwhile, Richard suffers a heart attack, and Tarek provides First Aid. Diallo is now being monitored by an anti-terrorist unit using a drone camera. They misjudge the situation and send a task force to storm the house. When the commanders see that Diallo is helpful and not threatening, the raid is canceled. Diallo’s asylum petition is granted, and he celebrates with the Hartmanns, Heike, and Tarek.

Cast

Awards

References
  1. "Refugee comedy is German box office sensation". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. Germany, Abendzeitung (2016-12-28). "Unsere Besten! - Das sind die AZ-Sterne des Jahres". www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  3. "Simon Verhoeven Photos Photos: 'Friedenspreis des Deutschen Films - Die Bruecke - 2017' Award - Munich Film Festival 2017". Zimbio. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
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