Der Vormund und sein Dichter / The Guardian and his Poet
Film
Directed by Percy Adlon (1978) | Original German version with English subtitles, colour, 89 min.Percy Adlon’s film “Der Vormund und sein Dichter: Robert Walser” is an exploration of the encounters between the Swiss poet Robert Walser (1894-1956) and the critic and publisher Mäzen Carl Seelig (1894-1956). The film chronicles the visits Seelig renders the mentally ill Walser in the psychiatric hospital Herisau, where the latter lived from 1933 until his death.
On their long hiking excursions and walks to various inns Seelig enquires into Walser’s past and often unsuccessful attempts to publish his work. The complicated relationship between the two unfolds as Seelig begins to take notes in order to profile Walser’s life and work without the latter’s explicit consent. Released in 1978 the film is a comedic exploration of the relationship between artist and art connoisseur, unfolding against the scenic backdrop of the renowned ‘Appenzellerland’.