X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Turkish for Beginners

Lena Schneider is annoyed. Actually, she just wants to be left alone, but nothing will come of it: the high school graduate from Berlin, who is dissatisfied with her overall situation, has to squeeze onto a plane to take off with mother Doris towards Thailand, where boisterous party nights are said to be waiting for the two of them. Already on board the machine, Lena makes the acquaintance of Cem Öztürk, who thinks he is a cool checker. The result: you spontaneously dislike each other. The beach holiday under the palm trees that Doris had hoped for then went very differently than planned: a cloud of ash forced the plane to make an emergency landing in the middle of the Indian Ocean. All passengers survive, but when Lena comes to her senses, she finds herself on a deserted island. Not quite so lonely and deserted, however: Ironically, Cem, his sister Yagmur and the Greek Costa also ended up on the island. Lena is not at all enthusiastic about this involuntary culture clash, mainly because she finds Cem's rowdy macho manners extremely off-putting. At least the motley group manages to establish radio contact with their parents: Doris Schneider and Metin Öztürk, father of Cem and Yagmur, have meanwhile been brought safely to the shared holiday hotel and are there in the process of indulging in a hot dalliance. Meanwhile, her kids are waiting for the promised rescue, and at some point things spark between them, too, although Cem has a real talent for getting Lena up one of the numerous palm trees again and again. The encounter with a treacherous sea urchin doesn't make things any better either, leading to the stranded having to realize that they don't have the island all to themselves after all. But if Lena had to choose between Cem Öztürk and a ravenous cannibal - she would probably choose the native. Or not?

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Josefine Preuß
Lena Schneider
Elyas M'Barek
Cem Öztürk
Anna Stieblich
Doris Schneider

Awards

  • 2012 - German Comedy Award - Best Feature Film Comedy (Beste Kinokomödie) - winner
  • 2012 - Bambi - Film - National - winner
  • 2013 - Audience Award - - winner
  • 2013 - German Film Critics Award - Best Feature Film Debut (Bestes Spielfilmdebüt) - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Celine and Julie Go Boating
Singin' in the Rain
City Lights
Pinocchio

Popular Movies See all movies

Project Hail Mary

2 hr 36 mins
Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
77   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction

Balls Up

1 hr 44 mins
In this raunchy, over-the-top comedy, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) go “balls out” and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
34   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Suspense, Sports

Apex

1 hr 35 mins
A grieving woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness is suddenly ensnared in a deadly game with a ruthless predator.
58   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Suspense

Man on Fire

2 hr 26 mins
Denzel Washington stars as the bodyguard of the daughter of a wealthy couple in Mexico City who wreaks bloody revenge when she is kidnapped.
47   Metascore
2004 Action & Adventure, Suspense, Drama

Jumanji: The Next Level

2 hr 3 mins
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
58   Metascore
2019 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Fast & Furious

1 hr 47 mins
Heading back to the streets where it all began, two men rejoin two women to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert. When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Connor. But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what's possible behind the wheel.
46   Metascore
2009 Action & Adventure, Suspense