Der Wilde Clown

• 1986
• 1 hr 47 mins

• Watchlist

A tough black comedy that reaches into the absurd to bring its message across, this effort by director Josef Roedl is a true original. Jacob (Sigi Zimmerschied) comes from a small village in Bavaria that has disappeared, eaten up by a sprawling U.S. military base. When he gets a job with a greedy capitalist known only as the Boss (Peter Kern) he does not know it is a ruse; his new employer wants Jacob's aunt's house and land. The Boss hires Janis (Sunnyi Melles) to seduce Jacob into a trap that would force him to hand over his aunt's property (his aunt is in a mental institution and legally incapacitated). When he catches on to these plots, Jacob puts on Army fatigues and goes to live in an abandoned barn in his old village, which just happens to be smack dab on the military base's firing range. To Jacob, he is now in the U.S. and can launch attacks against the Boss. From this point onward, other characters come in and out of his barn, including Janis, who must decide whether or not she can take the dive bombers and artillery fire in order to stay with Jacob.