Why are German films often so formulaic even though Germany is a European culture? I love them but they follow formula very closely like Hollywood. What are the best German films?

Es geschah am helllichten Tag

Man spricht Deutsh

And many I can't think of at the moment.

Falcons have been spotted at UC Berkeley. Is there hope for Campanile chicks again? - Berkeleyside

Zur Sache, Schätzchen (and its sequel)

In Wirtschaftswunder times, most Western German movies were junk but the GDR produced some very good ones, e.g. Western movies and Spur der Steine; in the 70s Paul und Paula. I definitely recommend both!

In jenen Tagen

Bill Oram: Seriously, who is going to beat the Beavers? - OregonLive.com

Lola rennt

Es war eine rauschende Ballnacht

Metropolis

A Closer Look At Uranus’s Moons Reveals a Surprising Dark Side - Gizmodo

Here is a list of some (by no means all) German movies that are considered Classics (and a few that should be, in my opinion):

Die Feuerzangenbowle

Nackt

Bond Yields Keeping Climbing. Governments Can Bring Them Down. - Barron's

What is of absolutely horrible quality is the “movies” that are produced for TV. They are famously bad.

Didi - alles im Eimer

Besides these, there are some really good children's movies: More recently, the Bibi und Tina series as just one example. Looking back into the 80s and 70s, as well as into the present, I would even say that movies for children are what the German Film industry excels at. There is much less screaming and cake throwing and slimy monsters and much more discussing of matters that affect children in real life (even in phantasy plots) than in most US children's movies as far als I know them. The GDR was particularly well known for excellent children's movies but the west was and is good at it, too.

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I have seen some very good German movies. It is not that they don't exist, but they hardly ever achieve much fame. Especially since people have been accustomed to the dominance of US popular culture.

Das Haus in Montevideo

Berlin - Sinfonie einer Großstadt

Why did Cartman love Heidi purely with heart, her being the first one he ever did, but then one day Butters tells him that all women are manipulative and then he began to believe that she was a bad person and pretended to be a victim?