As someone who’s given so much thought to the existential crisis faced byGermany’s twentysomethings, it’s perhaps no surprise that Nina Pauer’s favourite movie features a young woman looking out on life and not quite knowing what she sees. And that movie is Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation – which, I was surprised to discover, is already a decade old.

Is Robert Altman’s 1993 movie Short Cuts. No big surprise there. After all, the film itself, and the Raymond Carver short stories that it’s based on, were both huge sources of inspiration for Ingo Schulz’s excellent 1998 book Simple Stories.

Reluctant rebel

“He’s right, he’s so right!” This is me speaking. Earlier this year. Sitting at the breakfast table. Reading an article in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. The article – titled “Capitalism Doesn’t Need Democracy” – was an angry polemic. “Profits are privatized,” the author says, “and losses socialized.” It’s the state that always loses out. “All areas of life – education, health, public transport – are subjected to the laws of economics.” The author is the Dresden-born writer and essayist Ingo Schulze – my latest guest on Talking Germany.

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Boom, boom, buzz

There’s a lot of talk these days about the extent to which Berlin is changing. One thing: there’s a massive tourism boom. The world has discovered just how cool the German capital is, and everyone wants a slice of the cake. Second up: there’s a real estate boom, with investors pouring into the city to create chic new housing or media parks. And then there’s an Internet start-up boom. Or is there? “Oh yes, absolutely, Berlin is a new Silicon Valley in the making,” says Claudia Helming, co-founder and CEO of the highly successful online marketplace DaWanda – and my latest guest on Talking Germany.

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Claudia Helming’s FMOAT is very interesting. “Swimming Pool.” And, she quickly and expertly adds: “Both versions.” You’ll only fully appreciate François Ozon’s 2003 psychological thriller if, says Claudia, you’ve also seen its 1969 predecessor – La Piscine, starring Romy Schneider and Alan Delon, described as “a love triangle that leads to disaster.”