Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- tragicomic
- witty
- melancholic
- quiet evening
- girls night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film humane and engaging in its portrait of female friendship and everyday Berlin life, though aggregate reaction was mixed.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Katrin and Nike’s balcony conversations and mutual support organize the story around their bond rather than their romances.
Nike’s balcony functions as the women’s recurring refuge for drinking, chatting, and processing their lives.
Katrin’s unemployment, single motherhood, and both women’s poor romantic choices are treated with bleakness tempered by persistent humor.
Nike’s involvement with trucker Ronald creates a new strain within her relationship with Katrin.
Films like Summer in Berlin, and why
Frances Ha
female friendship, bittersweet romantic disappointment, and warm tragicomic observation of working-class urban life
The Worst Person in the World
intimate female-centered comedy drama about friendship, loneliness, and precarious everyday survival
Together
naturalistic ensemble storytelling, romantic frustration, and humane humor amid ordinary social pressures
Movie Details
- Director
- Andreas Dresen
- Release Date
- 2005-09-09
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (66)
Cast
- Inka Friedrich
- Nadja Uhl
- Andreas Schmidt
- Vincent Redetzki
- Stephanie Schönfeld
- Christel Peters
- Kurt Radeke
- Hannes Stelzer
- Barbara Bachmann
- Traute Hoess
Common questions
- What is Summer in Berlin about?
- Two Berlin best friends cling to humor and each other while unemployment, loneliness, and ill-fated romance reshape a summer of intimate conversations.
- What is Summer in Berlin like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Summer in Berlin as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Summer in Berlin violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Summer in Berlin as mild.
- What did critics think of Summer in Berlin?
- Critics broadly found the film humane and engaging in its portrait of female friendship and everyday Berlin life, though aggregate reaction was mixed.
- Which films are like Summer in Berlin?
- Films with a similar feel include Frances Ha, The Worst Person in the World, and Together.
- How long is Summer in Berlin?
- Summer in Berlin runs 105 minutes.
