''Berlin Blues'' (german: Herr Lehmann) is a 2003 German film by

Leander Haußmann Leander Haußmann (sometimes Haussmann) (; born 26 June 1959, Quedlinburg) is a German theatre and film director. The son of actor Ezard Haußmann and costume designer Doris Haußmann, he attended the Ernst Busch theatre school in Berlin. Hau ...

based on the novel of the same name by

Sven Regener Sven Regener (born 1 January 1961) is a German musician and writer living in Berlin. In 1982 he recorded his first LP with the band ''Zatopek'' and in 1984 he joined ''Neue Liebe''. In 1985 he founded the Berlin band Element of Crime together w ...

Plot summary

Frank Lehmann ( Christian Ulmen) is a bartender working in

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

, a borough of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

in October 1989, in the final weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall. As he is approaching his 30th birthday, his friends start teasing him by calling him "Herr Lehmann" ("Mr. Lehmann"). He has little interest in anything outside of SO 36, the eastern part of the borough of Kreuzberg. He has a brief relationship with Katrin (), a cook at a nearby bar. His best friend, Karl (

Detlev Buck Detlev Buck (; born 1 December 1962 in Bad Segeberg) is a German film director, actor, film producer, producer and screenwriter. Life and work From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, ', he has remained one of the most important film ...

), slowly goes mad, and his parents show up for a visit, disrupting his laid-back lifestyle.

Cast

Awards

At the 2004

German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

was awarded Best Supporting Actor and

Best Script. At the 2003

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards (german: Bayerischer Filmpreis) have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are th ...

, Christian Ulmen was awarded Best Actor.

External links

* Films set in Berlin Films about the Berlin Wall 2003 films Films based on German novels Films set in the 1980s Films set in West Germany German drama films 2000s German films {{2000s-Germany-film-stub