# Barfuss
**Barfuss** (also spelled *Barfuß*; international title *Barefoot*) is a 2005 German romantic comedy-drama directed by [Til Schweiger](https://www.edgepedia.org/til-schweiger), who also plays the male lead, co-wrote the screenplay, co-edited, and produced. It tells the story of Nick Keller, a chronic job-loser who saves a young psychiatric patient, Leila, from suicide, after which she follows him home barefoot and refuses to leave.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) The film drew about 1.5 million German cinema admissions and received the "wertvoll" (valuable) rating from the German Film and Media Rating board (FBW).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / lead | Til Schweiger, also co-screenwriter, co-editor, and producer[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| German release | 31 March 2005; distributor Buena Vista International (Germany)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| Runtime / format | 115 minutes (3,142 m), 35 mm, 1:2.35, color, Dolby Digital[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| Age rating | FSK 6 (rated 10 March 2005)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| Main cast | Til Schweiger (Nick Keller), Johanna Wokalek (Leila), Nadja Tiller, Michael Mendl, Steffen Wink[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| Admissions | 1,506,534 in Germany (as of 2016, per FFA)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) |
| Awards | FBW Prädikat "wertvoll" (2005); Bambi 2005, category Film National[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) • [2](https://www1.udel.edu/LLL/language/deutsch/handouts/fall_2014/Syllabi/Classic_German_Films_H14.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Nick Keller drifts through short-lived jobs and casual relationships, and in the eyes of his family he is a failure: his mother (Nadja Tiller) still loves him, but his stepfather Heinrich (Michael Mendl) and his younger brother Viktor (Steffen Wink) regard him as a complete loser.[3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/barfuss) Through a job-center placement he takes work as a cleaner at a psychiatric clinic, and loses the job after a single day.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc)
On leaving the clinic he prevents the suicide of Leila (Johanna Wokalek), a young patient who has spent her life in isolation, first locked in by her overprotective mother for 19 years, then placed in the clinic after her mother's death.[4](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_barfuss-2005.htm) Leila suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and refuses to wear shoes because they would make her feet feel caged; she always goes barefoot.[5](https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf185/filmneu-2006.pdf) In her eyes Nick is the first person who has ever done anything for her, and she follows him home barefoot and in her nightgown, determined to stay with him for good.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) • [6](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/51716/)
After failed attempts to shake her off and return her to the clinic, Nick takes Leila along on a trip to his brother's wedding, where Viktor is marrying Nick's former girlfriend.[3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/barfuss) • [7](https://www.kinofilmwelt.de/filme/details/barfuss) On the journey the two grow close, and Nick realizes that for the first time in his life he may have to take responsibility for someone else.[7](https://www.kinofilmwelt.de/filme/details/barfuss)
## Production
**Origins.** Schweiger acquired the rights to the story in the United States in 1998 while looking for projects he could realize as lead actor, co-producer, or director.[3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/barfuss) Early screenplay drafts carried the English working title *Barefoot*, and for the film he founded the production company Barefoot Films, which went on to produce his later features such as *Keinohrhasen* and *Honig im Kopf*.[8](https://www.moviepilot.de/movies/barfuss) He dedicated the finished film to his father.[3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/barfuss)
The screenplay is credited to Schweiger, Jann Preuss, Nika von [Altenstadt](https://www.edgepedia.org/altenstadt), and Steven Zotnowsky, from a story by Dina Marie Chapman; Christof Wahl was the director of photography, and the score was written by Dirk Reichardt, Stefan Hansen, and Max Berghaus.[9](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/barfuss_01d6f88b8b66b1eee04053d50b371684) Shooting ran from 3 June to 31 July 2004 in [North Rhine-Westphalia](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-rhine-westphalia) and Hamburg; 35 of the 40 shooting days took place in North Rhine-Westphalia, with locations including [Düsseldorf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dusseldorf) (the Oberkasseler Rhine bridge, Schloss Benrath), Düren, Windeck-Rosbach, Rösrath, Wuppertal, Kornelimünster, and the MMC Studios in Cologne.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) • [10](https://www.filmstiftung.de/news/barfuss-ins-gluck/) The film was produced by Barefoot Films in co-production with Buena Vista International (Germany) and Mr. Brown Entertainment, with funding from Film- und Medien Stiftung NRW, FilmFörderung Hamburg, and the Filmförderungsanstalt.[9](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/barfuss_01d6f88b8b66b1eee04053d50b371684)
For Wokalek, a stage actress then little known in film, the role of Leila was her screen breakthrough.[10](https://www.filmstiftung.de/news/barfuss-ins-gluck/) The film also features many guest appearances by German comedy actors, including Jürgen Vogel, Armin Rohde, Axel Stein, and Markus Maria Profitlich.[11](https://i.cineclub.de/filmarchiv/2005/barfuss.html)
## Release and reception
*Barfuss* opened in German cinemas on 31 March 2005 and reached 1,506,534 admissions (figure as of 2016).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) The DVD was released on 13 October 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and the free-TV premiere followed on 14 April 2008 on Sat.1.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc) • [4](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_barfuss-2005.htm)
The FBW jury granted the "wertvoll" rating, describing the film as a poetic film fairy tale and tender love story in a road movie that develops its own narrative form, while noting that it aims at a young audience with sometimes coarse comedy and 1950s retro styling, and that the sensitive subject of dealing with mentally ill people is treated rather lightly.[12](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/barfuss) Critics were divided: the FILMSTARTS review rated it 2.5 of 5, and the *Tagesspiegel* called it a flat tearjerker that does not actually move, while other reviewers credited Johanna Wokalek's performance with keeping the balance between coarse comedy and a sensitive outsider drama.[13](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/112374.html) • [14](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/zum-trost-ein-vanille-eis-1207738.html) • [7](https://www.kinofilmwelt.de/filme/details/barfuss) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 84% critics score based on two reviews, with a much larger audience rating base.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/barefoot)
A curiosity of the title: under [German orthography](https://www.edgepedia.org/german-orthography) rules, both old and new, the word is written "barfuß" with ß, so the film's printed title is officially a misspelling; the distributor reportedly kept it because promotional materials were already printed.[2](https://www1.udel.edu/LLL/language/deutsch/handouts/fall_2014/Syllabi/Classic_German_Films_H14.pdf) • [13](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/112374.html)
## Remake
An American remake, *Barefoot*, directed by Andrew Fleming with [Evan Rachel Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/evan-rachel-wood) and [Scott Speedman](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-speedman) in the lead roles, was released in 2014.[8](https://www.moviepilot.de/movies/barfuss)
## References
1. [Barfuss, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/barfuss_95aafcb6fc7a4fc9a510a0dbe55fafdc)
2. [Classic German Films H14, University of Delaware course notes (James F. Weiher)](https://www1.udel.edu/LLL/language/deutsch/handouts/fall_2014/Syllabi/Classic_German_Films_H14.pdf)
3. [Barfuss, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/barfuss)
4. [Barfuss (2005), Moviemaster](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_barfuss-2005.htm)
5. [Barefoot (Barfuss), Goethe-Institut film catalog](https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf185/filmneu-2006.pdf)
6. [Barefoot (Barfuss), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/51716/)
7. [Barfuss, Kinofilmwelt](https://www.kinofilmwelt.de/filme/details/barfuss)
8. [Barfuss, Moviepilot](https://www.moviepilot.de/movies/barfuss)
9. [Barfuss (English page), filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/barfuss_01d6f88b8b66b1eee04053d50b371684)
10. ["Barfuss" ins Glück, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW](https://www.filmstiftung.de/news/barfuss-ins-gluck/)
11. [Cineclub film review: Barfuss](https://i.cineclub.de/filmarchiv/2005/barfuss.html)
12. [Barfuss, Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW)](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/barfuss)
13. [Barfuß, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/112374.html)
14. [Zum Trost ein Vanille-Eis, Der Tagesspiegel](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/zum-trost-ein-vanille-eis-1207738.html)
15. [Barefoot, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/barefoot)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2005 to 2006*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license