Ku'damm 56 (2016) User Reviews

Can German women sing the Blues?

[ferdinand1932 · 8/10 · 3 October 2018]

A series which intends to cover a period of history and do it through a family and then pack it with enough adventures and emotional turmoil should give anyone the shivers. However 'Ku damm 56' manages through skillful writing and production to navigate a dramatic way despite the plotting tricks of a mini-series.

It takes a little acceptance - suspension of disbelief - by the viewer, but it's not a compromise and the story is told well, even if a bit incredible at times.

The wider themes are set as a feminist tale at the dawn of the women's movement. However yoking Muddy Waters' song of defiance, 'Mannish Boy' with lyrics changed to a female singer is perhaps stretching viewer willingness, even if it works well enough in the place its used.

Although the daughters are the center of the story the presence which makes it work is the mother, a sort of Mother Courage. She is enduring, indomitable and implacable, and loyal to traditional values.

Michelsen plays her expertly with a range of regret, disapproval, contempt, and anger as she expresses her almost constant disappointment with modern life and her errant daughter, in particular.

Her character works well with the backstory to the Nazi period, an era which still casts its shadow over the lives of the characters, and a wider shift in the tempo of change exemplified in the rock music.

So, German women can sing the Blues; though another song might be more appropriate.

Berlin between war and peace

[dromasca · 7/10 · 15 April 2017]

Looking back in historical perspective 1956 was one of these turning point years in history, when things accelerate, when a lot of related and unrelated events with lasting consequences happen. It was the first such year after WWII, the year of the Khrushchev report that started the de-stalinization process in the Soviet Union, the year of the Hungarian anti-communist revolt in Hungary crushed by the same Soviet Union, the year of the Suez war. While less spectacular things happened in occupied Berlin and Germany, 1956 was a typical year in the middle of the decade that saw Germany recovering from an economic point, while part of its population tried to put the past behind them. Forgetting the past would not work, we know it know, and Germany really recovered only after assuming its past morally and historically, but this was a process that last many years. 1956 was somehow in the middle, and the transition to peace and prosperity was felt and lived differently by different categories of people, by those who were to young to remember, by those who wanted the past forgotten, and by those who could not forget - the survivors of the camps, the former prisoners. Add to all these the occupation and division of Germany and of the city of Berlin (not completed at that time, the Berlin wall was built only in 1961) and the clash of cultures initiated by the beat and rock generation which took specific aspects in Germany. It was a complex landscape, which forms the background for the TV mini-series Ku'damm 56 which was screened on the French version of ARTE TV as 'Berlin 56'.

The Kurfürstendamm or Ku'damm as Berliners and especially visitors call it, the main commercial street of West Berlin, hosts in the movie the school of dance of Caterina Schöllack (Claudia Michelsen) whose husband did not return from the war, leaving her with the task of raising her three daughters. From many respects she is a symbol of the old Germany, doing her best to survive and adapt, to forget the past and build the future of her daughters the way she believes is best - marrying them well as good German wives into rich families, or at least with solid honorable husbands. This seems to work with the two elder daughters, but not with Monika, the younger one (Sonja Gerhardt) who is different from her sisters from all points of view - a mix of rebel and non-adapted character, with one big passion - dancing. She actually has inherited this skill from her mother, but the tastes are different in a world where jazz and 'decadent' rock'n'roll become in Germany as all over the world a symbol of generations clash. The story describes well the evolution of the four women, their relationships, their rebellion and compromises on the social and political background of a country where ruins were not completely cleaned up and wounds of the recent past were still bleeding for many.

Quite different, and actually the opposite of the situation in many scripts of the big or TV screens, while the four women profiles are well built and developed, some of the men characters are reduced to stereotypes. When they are not schematic their evolution is problematic - like the character of Joachim Franck and the troubled relationship to Monika, which starts with a rape to become almost a failed love story. It also seemed to me that the East Berlin scenes lacked a more serious perspective of the differences between the two parts of the Germany. There is a lot of dance and music and the differences in style between the different genres occupy an important role in the series, these could be the subject of another film, or maybe of the continuation of the series, as 1956 is also the point in history when Berlin starts recovering its between-wars shining as a multi-cultural center. As the ending shows Monika walking a Ku'dam that looks like a Dorothy from Oz path to new horizons, the continuation of the series may be in preparation. I am looking forward to it.

Good mix of history and fiction

[khsooners · 7/10 · 2 August 2018]

Ku'damm 56 is fun to watch. This is a great achievement by the actors and the set designers. The series is a bit loaded too much with historical input, almost like something made by a history teacher (and I say this as a history teacher). Sometimes the characters and situations are too much "an example for this" and an "example for that". It is still really interesting how much the 50s were a completely different age even though you can see cars, television and Rock 'n' Roll. The actresses of the three daughters are very good as are the mother and Heino Ferch's sinister doctor. So while this is no Downton Abbey or Boardwalk Empire in terms of quality, it is well worth watching.

Loved this!

[lisko-00745 · 9/10 · 11 October 2020]

Great characters, unpredictable storyline. Was very engaging.

Absolute Fantastic

[simon-hansen · 10/10 · 20 March 2018]

Must see piece to understand German post war history.

hot and cold period drama

[prvanjules · 6/10 · 4 February 2018]

I started watching this show since it showed up on Netflix, and German TV miniseries tend to have good quality. However, the show is wrongly advertised in my opinion.

First of, I am German, I study humanities and German post-war history is one of my favorite topics. We meet a mother of three daughters who is running a dancing school on the infamous Kuhfürstendamm. The setting is great, the costume and make-up department worked hard! I won't go into the detail when it comes to history, and instead focus more on the characters, which is important. Especially when it comes to Monika and something unaware viewers should be aware of.

The writers decided to make her a trope, which is all good as we have thousands of male tropes running around in TV-land. I liked her character and could associate with her for a while. Now, I felt sorry, because whomever wrote her character seems to have no idea. First, they had her be sexually assaulted by the man her mother wants her to marry. I am aware that this happens, sadly enough, but is it a woman's only character development and if so, why? I am personally tired of this as a plot point. The other absurd part of this storyline is that she connects with her rapist. They try to give him some sort of redeeming qualities and that is, considering how, in contrast to this, horrible they treat the only gay character in this series, a joke. Above mentioned gay character marries Helga, one of the three daughters. He is portrayed, as we often see it in such shows, as the reason for her sadness. Imagine being a privileged white woman married to gay man. How horrible must your life be. What a tragic story, it is even more tragic than Hamlet! Now, this aside, I wished they would have taken her character and developed it to a point where women can actually associate themselves with her. Because she lacks depth and interesting characteristics. To have her life solely based on the fact that he is gay is basic. I understand that being an unmarried woman back then was hard, but instead: what if she supported her husband? What, if they went for a more feminist plot for the two of them? They was such an amount of wasted potential, it hurt!

Eva has a crush on an older man, who electroshocks her sister's husband, is an overall horrible man, and she falls in love with a married football player from Eastern Germany. All good and well except: If you sell this series as a series that is supposed to attract a mostly female audience, with "empowering female characters", you actually have to know how to write women: as people. These women are tropes, and it pains me so much because there was so much potential. Eva is in her own way likable, with a typical crush, and the want to climb as high as her mother. I liked her character a lot, but again: wasted potential.

The men? I understand the intention to say "men are the evil here" and the majority of them are for good reasons. As the rapist, who they, as aforementioned, try to shove into our arms so that we feel some sort of empathy for him? No way, thank you. Freddy is likable and has many things in common with my father. I also enjoyed the actor and his portrayal. Wolfgang, the gay man, whom you feel for the most? Portrayed as an abusive pig. Now, being gay, I don't think the writers ever met a gay man in their lives or have no idea about what gay people endured in that period and still endure to this day. The father? Now, they do not seem to have any inclination to put some effort into the Eastern German area.

About her mother: the character is hard to watch because she is the embodiment of Western German women who were involved with the Nazis and the acting was well done. She gave me the good kind if headache.

My favorite character is Monika, and partly Freddy - her lover -, even though she has to go through so much crap by the writers that I feel like I want to write this character the book she deserves.

So, next time you try to write an "empowering show for women", perhaps you should consider making this better. Consider more research, and add more depth to characters who could have been worth it. This show was a great concept, but I have become so angry by watching it that I needed to smoke three cigarettes and that is bad for my health.

Ergo: Good watch if you are bored and/or want to learn some outdated German words for any project, have a glance into Western German history (not the Eastern, since they spent little to no effort in that part... seriously), go for it. But do not expect too much, and you will cringe many times as well at the scenes between Monika and her rapist.

I give it a six. Now, I need to get rid of my headache.

Poignant and Resonant!!

[CerridwenHawk · 10/10 · 28 May 2020]

Superb Series!! Beautifully Written with sublime Acting from the ensemble cast, particularly Sonja!! Every episode is an Emotional rollercoaster which leaves you feeling breathless with anticipation!

Simply Brilliant

[paul-08264 · 10/10 · 8 October 2018]

Everything about this production right to the very last scene is wonderful. One of the very best,

Engrossing nostalgic and very entertaining

[tm-sheehan · 8/10 · 4 October 2021]

My Review Kú damm 56 My Rating 8:10 Streaming on SBS on Demand

Ku'damm 56 is a German television trilogy about the 50s youth generation in the period between the end of World War II and the German Wirtschaftswunder. It tells the story of a conservative mother and her three daughters of marriageable age. The setting is the family-owned dance school. The trilogy deals with prudish morality, the first sexual experiences of the young women, and the desire for values, underscored by the association with Nazi Germany of the mother and many of her contemporaries.

I'm so glad Friends recommended this 3 part series from Germany and I'm looking forward to watching Series 2 set in 1959. And Series 3 set in 1963.

I don't know the cast at all but they're all excellent especially Sonia Gerhardt who plays Monica Shollak and Claudia Michelsen who plays Monica's mother and the best evil mother since Cate Blanchett in Cinderella.

Poor Monica lived in the shadow of her two sisters Maria and Emilia until she finds her passion rock and roll dancing.

The series Kù damm gets its title from where it takes place on Kurfürstendamm one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin and is lined with shops, houses, hotels and restaurants.

The sets indoor and out are so authentic to the era the street scenes post war buildings and vehicles are meticulous .

The great costumes and music help create the nostalgia of the series which deserves all the critical praise each series has received.

Heike Hempel, editor-in-chief of ZDF, stated: "With Ku'damm 56 we continue our tradition of narrating history in a contemporary way. [...] Ku'damm 56 shows women on their path to self-determined sexuality and equal rights."

I highly recommend the Kú damm Trilogy.

Inappropriate praise

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 2 April 2016]

"Ku'damm 56" is a German television mini-series from roughly 2 weeks ago. It consists of 3 episodes, each of them roughly 90 minutes long, 2 of them a bit longer. The story is set in Berlin in the year 1956 and tells us about a dance teacher and her 3 daughters. The contents include love, (unhappy) relationships, motherhood, fatherhood, homosexuality, careers, cheating and a lot more. After all, they had 270 minutes to fill, 4.5 hours. This series received lots of praise the rating here on IMDb is not bad either. However, it is not a good watch. The only reason i can think of why people are praising this is how bad German television is at this point. Mediocre contents is seen as something outstanding. People are even asking for a sequel here, but I do not need to see that. This reviews was made after the three original episodes.

Lets look a bit at the cast. It includes young rising German actors and more experienced ones who have been in the industry for decades. The three young women are played by Sonja Gerhardt, Maria Ehrich and Emilia Schüle. Unfortunately, I cannot say that they are particularly great actresses. Most of the time, they are fairly mediocre. Then again, at least their age gives them the option to become great in the future. I cannot say that about the likes of Heino Ferch, Uwe Ochsenknecht and Claudia Michelsen. These are really more known for being charismatic and having decent recognition value, but all three of them are not very gifted in terms of their range. And last but not least, speaking about the young male actors in here: They are equally forgettable. I am not buying the Sabin Tambrea hype at all, even if it has been going on for a while. I see no talent with him. Oh well, at least he is just supporting here.

Finally, lets look at the script. I mentioned the contents earlier already and the action in this series is the perfect example of screen-writers touching material that they simply are not capable of delivering with credibility. The writers' talent is too small compared to their ambitions and you have to say in the actors' favor (even if they weren't good either) that it was almost impossible to make this script work. One really negative example is how there is little to no credible transition between the three episodes. All that connects them is that the characters return, but the stories develop into completely different areas and sometimes it feels as if you were watching movies that had nothing to do with each other. Lets look at Tambrea's character here. In the first 90 minutes, he is a rapist. In the second 90 minutes, he turns into a potential love interest to his rape victim that we are supposed to cheer for? Are you kidding me? Do not be fooled by some critics reviews. Either they were paid for giving this a positive reception or otherwise they have no taste at all. I do not recommend "Ku'damm 56". By the way, Ku'damm or Kurfürstendamm is a street and as Berlin citizen myself, I have to say that the title does not make any sense at all as there are little to no references at all to Berlin. Another disappointment. The film could have played in any other town or even country. Watch something else instead. This is a really weak outcome. Only the costumes and set decoration are kinda okay, but that was no challenge either.

Rape scene in episode 1

[theresadances-309-558863 · 1/10 · 16 December 2020]

A movie about a dance school may attract young girls to watch it. They should not. There is a rape scene in Episode 1