Where to Watch
Checking availability in your country…
Cast
Movie Info & Details
Release Year1989
Runtime1h 39m
LanguageGerman
CertificationNR
GenresDrama
Votes1
DirectorHans-Werner Honert
WritersHans-Werner Honert, Helmut Grewald
TypeFeature Film
Rating9.0 out of 10
Cast10 credited
Also Known AsEin brauchbarer Mann
About Ein brauchbarer Mann
Young Uli Merkel is an engineer and inventor. He has a wife and child and is primarily interested in his career. One day, he receives a strange assignment from general manager Zeim. He is to track down the former chief designer Heiner Rudolf in order to take his inventions out of his pocket. Rudolf, ridiculed at the time for his forward-looking work, had taken all his documents with him when he left. Now they are needed to fulfill an important export order. In his search for Rudolf, Uli begins to realize that he, the boy, is being used. He finally finds Rudolf as a gravedigger on the island of Rügen. The encounter reinforces Uli's doubts about the moral integrity of his mission. He gets out and stays there, while Rudolf accepts an offer from the general manager.
Directed by Hans-Werner Honert, Ein brauchbarer Mann leans on a strong ensemble — Tobias Langhoff, Rolf Hoppe, Otto Mellies — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1989.
Read More on the BlogYou Might Also Like
More like Ein brauchbarer Mann, picked from what people are watching
5.8Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything
2023 5.8
Set in a warm summer in 1990 in former East Germany, it follows a young woman who begins a relationship with a charismatic farmer who is twice her age.
Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything
2023
6.9In the Aisles
2018 6.9
Christian, a reclusive young man from Leipzig, gets a job working the night shift at a big-box store. He's trained to stocks goods and operate a forklift by Bruno, a wistful former truck driver, who introduces Christian to a colorful group of overnight workers, including Marion, with whom Christian develops a troubled infatuation.
In the Aisles
2018
6.3Paula
2016 6.3
Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.
Paula
2016
7.0The Young One
1960 7.0
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
The Young One
1960
6.6The German Lesson
2019 6.6
In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.
The German Lesson
2019
6.2Farming
2018 6.2
Based on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells the story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he becomes the feared leader of a white skinhead gang.
Farming
2018
User Reviews
9.0
Community rating
Loading reviews…
From the Blog
All Posts
News
Michael OTT Release Date: The Michael Jackson Biopic Streams August 29
The Michael Jackson biopic arrives on JioHotstar on August 29, 2026. Here is where to watch it, what you need, and why it is one of the year’s biggest music films.
Guides
What Should I Watch Tonight? How to Decide in 5 Minutes
The average person spends more time scrolling than watching. Here's a 5-minute method to pick tonight's movie or show by mood, not by endless browsing.