Two to One

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Natja Brunckhorst directs. Martin Langer behind the camera. Amaury Laurent Bernier scores. Ramin Sabeti cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 2 years ago.
• 2Directed by Natja Brunckhorst, shot by Martin Langer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Amaury Laurent Bernier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Ramin Sabeti shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Sandra Hüller and Max Riemelt and Ronald Zehrfeld carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "The best things in life are free.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt28833698 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Martin Langer

Original score

Amaury Laurent Bernier

Editing

Ramin Sabeti

Production design

Florian Kaposi

Costume design

Anne-Gret Oehme

Makeup / hair

Diana Badalova

Sound

Kai Tebbel

Runtime

116 min · 1h 56m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$4,184,647

Original language

DE

IMDB

Two to One (2024) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

83% 🍅 Fresh

IMDB rating

6.1/10 · 823 votes

Also by

Natja Brunckhorst

• 
  La mer

  2002 · ★ 6.2
• 
  Mostly Minimalistic

  2022 · ★ 6.2
• 
  Shocking Shorts 2003

  2003

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  UK Theatrical Trailer [Subtitled]

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Brent Marchant2024-10-21
  ★ 8/10

  Stories based on the notion that “truth is stranger than fiction” often provide a great foundation for comedy, and writer-director Natja Brunckhorst’s second feature is evidence of that. This fact-based tale set in 1990 during the transitionary days of German reunification follows the newly uncertain lives of a group of working class residents in the city of Halberstadt as they seek to cope with the emerging social, economic and political paradigm that has been thrust upon them. As their East German homeland is absorbed into its Western counterpart, the socialist nation begins evolving into a new capitalist enclave. But this process is fraught with serious fiscal consequences with hard-hitting impact on East Germany’s citizens, many of whom now find themselves without work and a source of income, prospects that are likely to persist for at least a year, if not longer. And, unless they swap their soon-to-be-worthless East German currency for Deutsch Marks by a fast-approaching deadline, they’ll be without savings and working capital, too. So, in the face of these pressing circumstances, it’s truly ironic that a quartet of financially strapped locals should stumble into a huge stash of East German money that’s been casually disposed of in an underground (and surprisingly easily accessible) bunker, left to decay – and available for the taking. They impulsively grab as much as they can carry, but they’re nevertheless left with the question of what to do with it in the face of the impending exchange deadline. The answer lies in a creative money laundering scheme cleverly cooked up with a host of similarly situated community residents who seek to not only trade in the newly acquired cash without drawing undue attention, but also to expand upon the legitimately scrubbed reserves to build an even larger mutually held nest-egg. Doing so has its share of challenges, though, both economically and personally, yielding more than its share of surprises, conflicts and hearty belly laughs. While the film is a little slow to get started and has a few moments that either could have been eliminated or executed more deftly, “Two to One” otherwise delivers on all fronts. The picture’s fine ensemble cast, crisp writing, catchy soundtrack and spot-on period piece production values mesh well, spinning an inspiring, touching and humorous underdog yarn about hard-pressed everyday folks rising up to address extraordinary circumstances. It’s also a feel good, family-oriented tale told in an unlikely setting under unlikely conditions that are probably little known to those outside of Germany, but one that effectively proves once again that the truth really is often stranger than fiction.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Zischlermann Filmproduktion

  DE

• 

  Row Pictures

  DE

• 

  ZDF

  DE

• 

  ARTE

  DE

• 

  Rohfilm

  DE

• TH

  The Playmaker

  DE

• 

  WeFadeToGrey

  DE

• MA

  Magic Media Production

  DE

• LI

  Lichtblick Film

  DE

Key crew

• CastingSusanne Ritter
• Set DecorationFelicity Good
• Production DesignFlorian Kaposi
• EditorRamin Sabeti
• Casting DirectorSusanne Ritter
• SoundJohannes Hampel
• ProducerPaul Zischler
• Makeup ArtistDiana Badalova
• Sound DesignerKai Tebbel
• Costume DesignAnne-Gret Oehme
• ProducerMartin Rehbock
• ProducerSusanne Mann
• ProducerKarsten Stöter
• Production ManagerOle Nicolaisen
• Sound MixerMatthias Lempert
• Line ProducerPaul Zischler
• Commissioning EditorJulius Windhorst
• Commissioning EditorSolveig Cornelisen
• Commissioning EditorBarbara Häbe
• Production DesignJenny Roesler

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• german democratic republic
• money laundering
• east germany
• 1990s
• german reunification

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2025-05-04· German Film Festival

Also known as

International titles

• Two to OneUS
• 2:1DE
• Kaks ühe vastuEE
• La belle affaireFR
• Δύο προς έναGR
• A változás valutájaHU
• Два к одномуRU
• Zwei zu EinsDE