Till Eulenspiegel, hero of a legendary folk tale from the early 16th century, appears apparently out of nowhere as a cunning vagabond and a wise jester, who speaks truth to the powerful during the German Peasants’ War. At the same time, he is one who enjoys life, and never plays it safe. This subversive comedy was made by East German studio DEFA long before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In an inn, Till Eulenspiegel and his tomfoolery incur the displeasure of the innkeeper, whilst currying favour with the robber baron Kunz, who takes him to his derelict castle and unceremoniously appoints him Minister of any department where it may become necessary. Till’s qualifications do not come into play here, a fact used by some as an allegory for current politics. At the edge of the woods, the robber baron and his Minister encounter a group of girls, one of whom is raped by Kunz. Till, rather more innocently, then seemingly falls in love with another girl. She calls herself “Rosine”, and will run into him several times further down the line. After a fight with Kunz, Till flees, pulling the wool over the eyes of the robber baron and his men whilst on the run.

Eulenspiegel then turns up as a monk in a church, collecting money for a chapel in the name of an “Irish saint”. Using his cunning, he has girls and women donate money to him, also outwitting the church priest and a couple of poor men who had prayed for a generous patron, “so that you might see through your benefactors!” Entering the courts of Prince Heinrich, he pretends to be a painter and is given the task of decorating the bleak banquet hall. With some help from a real painter, he completes the paint job, though it still turns out confused and chaotic. The agreed conditions, craftily arranged by Till, mean that the Prince and his family are resigned to accept the wildly splattered walls along with the theology that supposedly underlies them. When this causes conflict at a banquet thrown in honour of the Prince, Till moves on again.

In the Kaiser’s court, Eulenspiegel masquerades as a spectacle maker. He shows how easy it would be to kill the King, wins their trust and is named the court jester. Till seems to enjoy this luxurious and extravagant life, along with the erotic pleasures of the bathhouse. He becomes involved with the Regent’s advisors, who turn out simply to be opportunistic hangers-on. As a young man who foresees human equality and questions the privileges of the authorities, Till places himself among their ranks and, together with the one insurgent is then sentenced to death. The supposed jester uses his trickery to escape the hands of the executioner and rescues his new pal. Both of them are banished from the city and move on.

This vagabond comedy was made in 1974/75 at a time where the end of the GDR was still far beyond people’s imagination. Although the film is based on a real historical situation of abused monarchical power, and all those who lived in its shadow, the cinema-goers of the time could well have interpreted many parts of the film as a satire of all authorities, their own included. The heroic protagonist is an anarchic clown and yet a political hero, whose restless wandering protects him from the ultimate control and oppression of the totalitarian system, one in which he finds no favour.

Comment on the subversive potential of JESTER TILL is noticeably absent from the writings of the era’s critics. Rather, they consider the film to be firmly burlesque and interpret many of the anecdotes as a mockery of an already long defeated power. Yet the hero of the title, who tells us we mustn’t fear God nor man, must surely be seen at all times and places as an utmost political figure.

Production Period

1974/1975

Production Year

1975

color

color

Aspect Ratio

1:1,66

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Feature Film

Genre

Fantasy / Fairy Tale, Drama, Comedy

Topic

GDR, Film History

Available Media

DVD

Original Version

German (de)

DVD

Subtitles

German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (es), Portuguese (Brazil)