<p>According to my son (don’t take his word for it, though, ask around) German cinema (especially early twentieth century cinema, pre-WWII) was pioneering and innovative. And German cinema today is on the rise as evidenced by the Best Foreign Film nominations recently. If you want to be in Film/Critical Theory aspect of things, learning German certainly helps. It also helps in getting scholarships like Fulbright (to study in Germany) which my son is interested in.</p>