Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland

I'm a New Zealander living in Germany, my girlfriend is Turkish born of emigrant parents. We decided to see this movie after a recommendation from friends.

It was two hours of laughter and a few tears :) It manages to capture the spirit of Turkish emigrants in Germany, their traditional differences and the subtle humor within it. There were many gems of truth in this film that we were able to understand due to our own experiences in both cultures.

To sum it up : an uplifting funny film about heritage and intercultural family life.

Cheers, Capt Kiwi

Heart-warming movie, who manages the balance between comedy and drama very well. It's a tribute to the first immigrants from Turkey to Germany and the difficulties they faced to adapt and built a life in a foreign environment and culture and how those facts forged the character of the third generation, their grandchildren.

The story is too familiar, i guess, to all the people of the southern countries that left them in the 60'ties to seek employment in the industries of the rich North: Germany, Belgium or even farther to the United States and Australia. At that time, the immigrants were needed, invited and welcome. One is tempted to compare to the current situation in Europe,who cannot support or welcome the todays immigrants anymore.

This film could have been easily a "heavy" one, but it avoids that trap. There is no deep analysis of the difficulties and the problems they dealt with there. Instead it has a light-hand, tender touch, dealing with both joy and sorrow, mourning and adaptation. It is as the young boy says at the end of the movie: "Life is the ups and downs". Music and bright color photography contribute in emphasizing that.

Very good direction, screenplay and excellent acting from all concerned. The little boy who is the last link in the family chain, the one for whom the story is told and who will in his turn re-tell it to his own descendants, is played by a very charismatic child actor, that will steal your heart.

Another great film from the Turkish film industry.

I watched this movie with my husband, and we couldn't stop laughing! It was such a funny take at life in Germany, one of the precious few German comedies that actually makes you laugh!

The movie is the story of a family's roots, about their experience moving from Eastern Turkey to Germany. The movie shows different phases in this family's story: from their grandparents' courtship in rural Turkey to the day they become German citizens many years later. The story is full of funny anecdotes regarding new places, a new language, different food, a different culture, and how to relate to them. I think any immigrant living in Germany - and not just Turks - can relate to some of the experiences the film shows... On the other hand, I saw it in Germany with a very mixed audience and the whole movie theater was roaring in laughter, so I think the movie also tickled non-immigrant Germans' funny bone.

Nevertheless, as much as I loved this movie, I don't know if someone who does not speak German or has not been to Germany would be able to understand the jokes... There is a lot of language humor and many local references, so it might not be very universal. I think the previous reviewer certainly did not get the humor...But for someone acquainted with German culture, food, etc. this movie is fantastic, and, as I said, it is one of those few German comedies which makes you LAUGH!!!

The movie plots on two opposite lines the story of Turk family on the way to Germany as foreign workers, and their way back to Turkey. The relationship between the Turkish guests and the German hosts are idealistically depicted - the Germans love their Turkish hard-workers (if things are so happy, why Turkey has been time and again declined from joining the European Union?), the Turkish family is completely modern - like a normal Westernized family : they react tolerantly to their young daughter who gets pregnant from a non-German guy (no word on the common and prevalent honor-killings among the Turks in Germany, no word on arranged marriage which is also the very common among Turks in Germany, etc.) I've been living many years in Germany, and the story this movie tells us is completely unconvincing.

As far as the artistic sides of the movie are concerned, it starts as a comedy and suddenly, with no seen reason, it turns into saccharine melodrama. The performance, the dialogs, the mimic and gestures reminded me of typical German TV commercials for Washing Powder, Yogurt, etc.

A really good start, with a lot of intercultural jokes, between Turkish and German lifestyles and biases. The movie unfortunately loses some weight after the first half and tries to mix emotion at the end, not in a very convincing way. Goes for an average 7.

I'd still advise in favor of this movie, with such a nice and funny first half.