Film
Katzelmacher

1969, 86 mins.

Mon, 06.02.2023
2:00 PM IST Library MMB

Marie belongs to Erich. Paul sleeps with Helga. Elisabeth keeps Peter. Rosy does it with Franz for money. They meet in the courtyard, at the pub, on the playground, in their apartments. They get together one-on-one, in pairs or as the entire group, and they exchange their views, they are aggressive, get sick of one another, drink, get bored … That Helga, who belongs to Paul, gets involved with his friend Erich, that Peter is sick of being kept by Elisabeth and that he takes his frustration out on Rosy, a girl of easy virtue, that Paul sometimes sleeps with the handsome Hannes, that Gunda is being made fun of because she gets no guy – none of this can change the isolation of their petty bourgeois, suburban turf. Part of this scenario is the fact that everything has its “rightness.” It is not until Jorgos, “the Greek from Greece” steps into their world that xenophobia, envy of his sexual prowess, and aggression break loose. In short: the fascist syndrome is triggered, the men get merry, gang up against him and beat him. “There must be order.”