6.17 Discussing a film or a book — Epoché
What you will be able to do Ask someone what they thought of a film or a book: Wie fandest du den Film? Wie hat dir der Film gefallen? Say what a story is about: Worum geht es in dem Film? Das Buch handelt von … Give an opinion and disagree about the ending, the plot or the pace. Recommend a book, or warn someone off one: Ich würde es auf jeden Fall empfehlen. Ich würde es nicht empfehlen. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Wovon handelt dieses Buch? [1] What's this book about? Das würde uns nicht überraschen. [2] That wouldn't surprise us. Ich habe eine Überraschung für euch. [3] I've got a surprise for you. Keine der beiden Entscheidungen war eine Überraschung. [4] Neither decision was a surprise. Ich habe keine Ahnung, wovon du sprichst. [5] I have no idea what you're talking about. Es ist dir nicht erlaubt, dieses Gemälde zu berühren. [6] You're not allowed to touch this painting. Nicht das Glas berühren. [7] Don't touch the glass. Prerequisites : 5.20 — you need the vocabulary of the arts from 5.16 Vocabulary , the subjunctive of politeness from 2.25 Grammar , and the dative verb gefallen from 4.4 Cases . Who is speaking to whom Two friends, Jonas and Mia, who have just come out of the cinema, and later talk about a book. They use du and the relaxed register of friends. The conversation moves from impressions to content, to disagreement, to recommendation: the natural order of any conversation about a film or a book, in German as in English. Talking about books and films in German finden and gefallen . The two key verbs for opinions work differently. Wie fandest du den Film? uses finden , to find , with the person as subject, just like English How did you find the film? Wie hat dir der Film gefallen? uses gefallen , with the film as subject and the person in the dative: literally How did the film please you? Both are equally common; learn the answers in pairs: Ich fand ihn gut. / Er hat mir gut gefallen. What a story is about. German has two fixed questions: Worum geht es? and Wovon handelt es? The answers mirror them: Es geht um … with the accusative, and Es handelt von … with the dative. Both mean it's about … . Note that German uses the present tense to summarise a plot, as English does. Germans discuss, and disagree. A film or a book is a common topic for a long conversation in German-speaking countries, and it is normal to disagree openly: Das Ende hat mir nicht gefallen is not rude, and the other person is expected to defend their view. English speakers often soften criticism of something a friend liked; German speakers usually say what they think and then explain why. The next lesson, 6.18 Conversation , is about doing this without offending. Book culture. Germany has a dense network of bookshops, a fixed book price that protects them, and two great book fairs, in Frankfurt in autumn and in Leipzig in spring. Many films in German cinemas are based on novels, and the question Hast du das Buch gelesen? follows almost every film. Films from abroad are usually dubbed; if you want the original version, look for OmU , original with subtitles. Exchange one — straight out of the cinema Wie fandest du den Film? [8] How did you find that film? Der Film war gut! [9] The movie was good. Wie hat dir der Film gefallen? [10] How did you like that movie? Die Handlung dieses Films ist spannend. [11] The plot of this film is exciting. Jonas asks the same question twice, first with finden and then with gefallen , which is natural when the first answer is short. Mia's second answer uses the extended form die Handlung dieses Films , with the genitive. Exchange two — what it is about Worum geht es in dem Film? [12] What's that film about? Der Film basiert auf einem Buch gleichen Namens. [13] That movie is based on a book of the same name. Ich habe das Buch nicht gelesen. [14] I didn't read the book. Das Buch war schwer zu lesen. [15] That book was hard to read. schwer zu lesen is the sein + zu construction of 2.29 Grammar : hard to read . Exchange three — they disagree Oh, das Ende hat mir nicht gefallen. [16] Oh, I didn't like the ending. Das Ende war keine Überraschung. [17] The ending wasn't a surprise. Es war langweilig. [18] It was boring. Mir hat vieles gefallen. [19] I liked a lot of things. The disagreement is direct but friendly. Mia does not contradict Jonas; she puts her own view next to his with mir in first position: I, for my part, liked a lot of it . Exchange four — a book to recommend Ich lese ein spannendes Buch. [20] I'm reading an exciting book. Wovon handelt das Buch? [21] What is that book about? Dieses Buch handelt von Erziehung. [22] This book is about education. Ich würde es auf jeden Fall empfehlen. [23] I would definitely recommend it. Ich würde es empfehlen is the subjunctive of 2.25 Grammar : a recommendation sounds more natural as a hypothesis than as a command. How to talk about a book A good contribution to a conversation about a book or a film has three parts. First, a short judgement: Der Film war gut , Das Buch war schwer zu lesen . Second, what it is about, in one or two sentences in the present tense: Es geht um … Third, a reason for your judgement, naming something concrete: the plot, the ending, a character, the style. If the other person disagrees, answer with your own reason rather than repeating your judgement more loudly. This is the structure German teachers expect in school, and it is also what makes a conversation interesting. Word list Word (article, plural) Meaning Notes handeln de to be about (with von ); to act; to trade Gender / part of speech verb How English differs Es handelt von … is it's about … ; without von it means to act . Das Buch handelt von Sternen. [24] This book is about stars. basieren de to be based (on) Gender / part of speech verb How English differs With auf and the dative: auf einem Buch basieren . Der Film basiert auf einem Buch gleichen Namens.