User reviews

The story of the Viennese butcher Karl Bockerer from the moment the Nazis took power until their end. He and his family are no noble men, and they all don't seem to be gifted with wisdom. But while the rest of his family follows the Fuehrer, Karl Bockerer refuses to get assimilated by the new system. With his aggressive but charming behavior but also with a whole lot of luck he survives through the years...

No, this is not a very realistic movie, grumblers of Karl Bockerer's kind, demonstrating their antipathy for the system in public, wouldn't have survived those times. But he instead is a narrator, showing how easy it is to recognize evil even without a profound education. Also without prejudice his circle of friends contains all kinds of Austrians, an how they reacted/had to react to the new situation. Especially his wife and son, fanatics about the Nazis, introduce us to a very dark side of these days.

After all this movie is not meant to get translated, because its feeling comes out of the way those people talk and how Bockerer opposes the system by underlining he is Viennese, no Aryen, where his dialect plays an important role. (Still I am disappointed that such a great movie doesn't come with subtitles and on a very spartanic DVD with its way worse second part.) Still this movie is one of the best Austrian movies ever (I also recommend Indien, Muellers Buero and Silentium)

I have discovered a German dvd of Der Bockerer and the sequel, Austria is free. Neither with any subtitles. These are absolute gems and it just beats me why the Austrians do not make them available with multiple subtitles for the whole world to appreciate. The acting is outstanding and the grim background to the black humour makes a very powerful story. A classic of the cinema.

Only Austrians could ever fully appreciate the story, the characters, the actors, the pwerformances, the viennese nuances and the history portrayed in this milestone movie. Which is truly a shame. It is impossible to translate or correlate this one of a kind movie but at least it serves all Austrians as a timeless reminder of dark times and the character qualities ordinary people show in a time of crisis, both good and bad. This is a must see like the "Great dictator" by Charlie Chaplin, just for Austrian audiences. Must see. Highly recommended for the newer generation!

as the director, franz antel died last night, the movies will be played again in austrian television. bockerer is the role model, zemecki i believe must have seen, that an extremely naive person can weedle through harsh times and survive ,using horse sense instead of university degree's knowledge.

if more people would have used their senses.....the world would have been saved from a lot of grief.....

sadly antel decided to do 3 sequels....they aren't par with the original. thank you mr. antel for a wonderful, viennese version of the original book that is the base of the movie script.