The story of The Coming Days
The Coming Days isn't your typical sci-fi thriller. It's a family drama wrapped in a geopolitical nightmare—set in a 2020 that feels uncomfortably plausible. Director Lars Kraume imagines Europe in free fall: the European Union has fractured, resource wars have become routine, and massive barricades cordon off cities from the desperate masses outside. Into this volatile world steps the Kuper family, caught at the intersection of power and resistance. Walter Kuper sits atop an energy conglomerate—he's profiting from the chaos—while his three adult children navigate impossible moral terrain. His daughter Cecilia has joined the Black Storm, a terrorist organization fighting the system her father represents. Laura grapples with motherhood and love in a world that's collapsing around her. And Philip has been conscripted to fight in Germany's hopeless campaign to secure the last remaining oil fields in the Middle East. These aren't abstract political players. They're people you might know, making unbearable choices in unbearable times.
Behind the making of The Coming Days
Kraume assembled a formidable German ensemble to bring this vision to life. Daniel Brühl—known internationally for roles in films like Good Bye, Lenin! and Captain America: Civil War—anchors the film with a performance that captures the moral complexity of a man trying to maintain his world as it collapses around him. Johanna Wokalek and Jürgen Vogel round out the central cast, both accomplished actors in German cinema with the range to navigate the film's tonal shifts from intimate family drama to geopolitical thriller. The production itself was a substantial undertaking, backed by Badlands Company, Dream Team Filmproduction, and the German public broadcaster ARD—a combination that gave Kraume both artistic freedom and the resources to realize his dystopian vision convincingly. The 130-minute runtime allows the story to breathe, moving between intimate conversations and sweeping scenes of a society in breakdown. While the film didn't become a mainstream box office phenomenon, it found an audience among critics and viewers interested in speculative fiction that treats political collapse as a character-driven human drama rather than action-spectacle fodder.
What makes The Coming Days stand out
What's striking about The Coming Days is how it refuses easy answers. You can't simply root for the terrorist daughter or condemn the corporate father—Kraume makes sure you understand the logic driving each character, even when their choices horrify you. The film operates in moral gray zones, which is where the best political fiction lives. Brühl's performance is particularly effective because he doesn't play Walter as a villain; he plays him as a man trying to protect his family and preserve some fragment of normalcy in a world that won't allow it. That's the real terror the film captures—not explosions or violence, but the slow realization that the systems holding civilization together are genuinely fragile. The cinematography emphasizes this: sterile corporate spaces, barricaded streets, refugee camps visible through chain-link fences. It's all deliberately unglamorous. Some critics found the film heavy-handed—IMDb's 4.9/10 rating suggests it didn't land universally—but that harshness is partly the point. This isn't escapism. It's a warning wrapped in family tragedy, and if it feels bleak, well, that's the intention. The screenplay doesn't let you off the hook by suggesting things might get better, or that individual heroism will save the day. Instead, it asks: what do you do when the ground beneath you is genuinely giving way?
Where to stream The Coming Days online
The Coming Days is available on major OTT services, and the Movie OTT "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page will show you exactly which platforms currently carry it in your region. Streaming availability shifts frequently—a film that's on one service today might move to another next month—so checking that widget before you click play saves frustration. Since this is a German-language film with subtitles (or dubbed versions on some platforms), you'll want to confirm your preferred audio option is available on whichever service you choose. If you're a regular viewer of European prestige drama, you've probably encountered this title mentioned in recommendation threads; it's the kind of film that builds word-of-mouth slowly among people who appreciate ambitious, difficult cinema.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is The Coming Days based on a true story?
No, it's entirely fictional—a speculative vision of a near-future Europe. That said, the film draws on real anxieties about resource scarcity, political fragmentation, and refugee crises that were already visible in 2010, making its dystopia feel grounded rather than fantastical.
Q: Who directed The Coming Days?
Lars Kraume directed the film. He's a German filmmaker known for tackling political and social themes with a documentary-influenced style that grounds speculative scenarios in human reality.
Q: What language is The Coming Days in?
The film is in German. Most streaming platforms offer subtitled versions, though some may provide dubbed audio in other languages depending on your region.
Q: How long is The Coming Days?
The runtime is 130 minutes—just over two hours—which gives the narrative room to develop its multiple character arcs and geopolitical backdrop without feeling rushed.
Q: Why is The Coming Days rated so low on IMDb?
The film's 4.9/10 rating reflects its bleak, uncompromising tone and refusal to provide cathartic resolutions. Viewers seeking conventional narrative satisfaction or hopeful endings often find it punishing rather than rewarding. That doesn't mean it's poorly made—it means it's deliberately challenging.
Final thoughts on The Coming Days
The Coming Days won't make you feel good. It's not designed to. But if you're interested in speculative fiction that treats political collapse as a human story rather than a backdrop for action sequences, it's worth your time. The performances anchor the abstraction, and Kraume's refusal to let you look away—to accept easy villains or heroes—is exactly what makes it stick with you. Don't watch it expecting entertainment in the conventional sense. Watch it because it asks questions about power, complicity, and family loyalty that don't have clean answers. That's rare in cinema, especially in science fiction.
