User reviews

Speaking of secret bank accounts and petit bourgeois who dream of peeling off their narrow corset, in which their secure and quiet lives ripple along in smaller Swiss towns - this is the best movie ever made to explain the explosive blend of Swiss society. Greed reigns among middle class savers, and when a social worker comes along and promises them exorbitant returns - they believe every word of it. The more daring his accounts become the more followers beat a path to his door (and the one who is most puzzled about this is the social worker himself). Extremely well played by Roeland Wiesnekker, who shows a performance that should be honored by an Oscar (!), the main character Hans-Peter Stalder fascinates not only his willing and credulous "victims" but also the moviegoer, who can hardly believe that this is based on a true story, which happened only two decades ago. But the underlying message and truth of it has become even more topical with recent developments: What looks like a conflict between the Swiss Banking Secret and some crazy tax collectors form the US, Germany or France is something much more internal: "Der Fürsorger" clearly shows that this is a matter between the Swiss and within Switzerland. If perceived accurately it is a blank mirror for anyone to see this piece of Swiss identity.