In October 1989, the part of the West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg called SO 36, had been largely shut off by the Wall from the rest of the city for 28 years. A lethargic sub-culture of students, artists, bohemians and barflys had flourished among crumbling buildings. Part of that microcosm is barkeeper Frank, semi-formally called 'Herr Lehmann' by friends and patrons. He hangs out drinking, sports utter disregard for anything beyond SO 36 and lazily pursues an affair with cook Katrin. His lifestyle is gradually disturbed, when his parents show up for a visit, things go awry with Katrin and his best friend Karl starts to act strange. Meanwhile, political turmoil mounts on the other side of the Wall.
Acting
Christian Ulmen's bone-dry delivery makes nothingness magnetic.
Direction
Haußmann captures a subculture that didn't know it was ending.
Writing
Sven Regener's dialogue: profound, profane, and perfectly pointless.
Director
Leander Haußmann
Christian Ulmen
Herr Lehmann
Katja Danowski
Katrin, die schöne Köchin
Detlev Buck
Der beste Freund Karl
Janek Rieke
Kristall-Rainer
Uwe Dag Berlin
Jürgen
Martin Olbertz
Marco
Hartmut Lange
Erwin
Margit Bendokat
Lehmanns Mutter
Johann Adam Oest
Lehmanns Vater
Annika Kuhl
Heidi
Tim Fischer
Sylvio
Michael Gwisdek
Hans
Sven Martinek
Polizist 1
Bernhard Schütz
Polizist 2
Stephan Baumecker
Kiffer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Sven Regener's cult novel, the film captures the real SO 36 scene—where squats, anarcho-punks, and artists treated the Wall as background noise until November 9, 1989 made them irrelevant overnight.
The title 'Herr Lehmann' was ironic—Frank was nobody's 'Herr,' just a 30-year-old avoiding adulthood until history forced his hand. Regener later admitted he wrote Frank as 'the man I was terrified of becoming.'
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