Herr Ober! (1992) User Reviews

Entertaining and smart

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 5 August 2016]

"Herr Ober!" is a German 95-minute movie from 1992, which means it will have its 25th anniversary next year. It is one of the most known works by Bavarian filmmaker Gerhard Polt and, like many other times, he is the writer, director and lead actor here. The story is about a man who gets pushed around by his bossy wife (with whom he owns an exquisite restaurant together) and at some point he just has enough and leaves, starts being a waiter at a smaller restaurant. His wife is played by Christiane Hörbiger (not Schneeberger this time) and apart from Matthes, who ha s a small cameo, she is the only one I am familiar with in here. Aside from Polt, of course. He is known for making films that also show us how Germans (especially Bavarians) interact with foreigners and even if this is not the main plot in here, Polt used this approach in one scene when his character talks to a bunch of tourists from the United States. His wrong perception of the weather etc. was possibly the funniest moment of the film.

But the movie works well all in all. Polt's character is extremely likable and you feel sorry for him with all the obstacles he's running into in his attempts to become a better man. Can the restaurant owner maybe help him in this mess? Watch for yourself. But do not mistake this film for a romance or anything like that. Yes there are moments that suggest such a genre, but it's really more about the comedy (also only partially) and, most of all, about a crucial time in terms of change in Polt's character's life. That is also why I really enjoyed the ending. They are not going for a forced happy ending, but for something more realistic and authentic, even if it is a bit sad. But it's not an unhappy ending at all as the protagonist's reaction will probably put a smile on your face and you hope with him that he finds happiness wherever he is heading. This may possibly be my favorite from Polt. I certainly recommend the watch and I think he as the writer did a good job and same can be said about all the actors. Go check it out.

More anthropological humour from Gerhard Polt

[t_atzmueller · 27 September 2011]

Ernst Held (Gerhard Polt) is a simple fellow: he knows no greater joy than to compose and perform his passionate but not necessarily gifted poetry. Instead he is forced to work as clerk in a rural countryside hotel, owned by his stiff-lipped, upper-class wife (Christiane Hörbiger playing a rural version the character she played in "Shtonk!"). After a platonic affair with the local bimbo, Ernst finds himself cast out, his wife having revoked his financial privileges and wandering penniless in the streets Munich. He manages to con lunch out of gullible American tourists, eventually finding a job as waiter in a small corner-café, owned by the financially struggling Agnes.

In the meantime, Frau Held finds that 1,000 copies of Ernst's first poetic-epos has been delivered to her and that she is being footed with the bill. She goes off to Munich to find Ernst but Ernst, through a lucky twist of fate, has a first success in his poetic career: he manages to make his way into one of Munich's cynical and disillusioned publishing houses who turn this "simpleton-poetry" (intended as a joke for cynical and disillusioned intellectuals) into an instant bestseller. Ernst Held (the German word for 'hero') emerges victorious, his honour redeemed, his credit-card and sports car returned and his nagging wife for once silenced. At the zenith of success, Ernst does what every Bavarian male would do in such situation: he helps himself to a 'Maß' (a litre of beer, served in a bucket-like glass) in a beer-garden end enjoys the sun shining into his face. The End of our hero's odyssey.

Gerhard Polt, in his directorial debut, has always relied on quality over mass. His film and TV-appearances are few and far between but always of the highest standard, humoristic ally brilliant but always with a serious, realistic background. Like his collaborations with Hanns-Christian Müller ("Kehraus", "Man spricht Deutsh"), Polt only relies on reality to provide comedy. Yes, the viewer can laugh at the quirky, lovable characters and situation but the film is never structured like your average comedy. It could also be seen as a social commentary about a city and the mentality of the people that inhabit it; "it just depends from which angle you look at it", as an old Bavarian saying goes.

In all fairness, the directorial skills of Polt are not as fluent and well paced as that of his partner Müller, making the movie a little stiffer than prior mentioned movies, hence never quiet being as brilliant.

People unfamiliar or not interested in Munich and Bavarian culture and mentality in general, might not be able to understand the points this movie is making; it is purely a local affair. But if you're familiar with Polt's straight-faced, critical humour, or if you have an anthropological interest in the southern German mind, you'll find much "insider-information" in "Herr Ober".