This month, let’s practice German with the films of actress Hannah Herzsprung. The actress got her start in television as a teenager. Since then she’s gone on to appear in mainstream German language films alongside big names, such as Til Schweiger in Schutzengel. You may have seen her in The Reader, where she portrays the daughter of Michael, the lead character. Let’s get to know Hannah Herzsprung better and learn German with film! I’m highlighting three of Herzsprung’s films: Vier Minuten, Traumfrauen, and Lila, Lila.
About Hannah Herzsprung
Hannah Herzsprung was born in Hamburg, Germany, to an actor father and a fashion designer mother. Her start in acting came in the late 1990s as she appeared on the television series Aus heiterem Himmel. She decided to continue pursuing acting and the decision paid off. In 2007 she was awarded best new female talent at the Bavarian film awards.
Since then she’s appeared in dozens of films and television episodes. You can currently see Herzsprung in filmmaker Tom Tykwer‘s Babylon Berlin television series.
Four Minutes (Vier Minuten)
For Four Minutes (Vier Minuten), Herzsprung portrays Jenny, an unremorseful convict in prison for killing someone. An older woman, portrayed by renowned actress Monica Bleibtreu (and Moritz‘s mother), begins teaching piano at the prison and works to take Jenny under her wing. The music and the lessons become a sort of therapy for Jenny who struggles to address her current situation and a heavy, traumatic past that still weighs on her.
Traumfrauen
In the romantic comedy that was a box office hit, Traumfrauen follows three Berlin women who are all looking for love. Karoline Herfurth portrays Hannah, Herzsprung portrays Leni and Palina Rojinski is Vivienne. And, as the saying goes, they are looking for love in all the wrong places. That’s when Elyas M’Barek, as Joseph, a struggling actor, enters to catch Leni’s eye…and her heart.
Lila, Lila
In 2009’s Lila, Lila, actor Daniel Brühl portrays David, a young waiter, with his heart set on a girl named Marie (Herzsprung). When David finds a writer’s unpublished manuscript, he passes it off as his own work in hopes of impressing Marie. But David’s lie quickly goes out of control. The book becomes a best-seller and the manuscript’s true author comes knocking. The film is based on a novel of the same name.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo is by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0. This page contains affiliate links.
