"Der Bockerer" (and there is no translation for this one as it's the main character's name) is an Austrian / West German co-production from 1981, which means this film has its 35th anniversary this year. The director is Franz Antel and quite a few writers worked on this one. Bockerer is the career-defining performance of Austrian actor Karl Merkatz and he won a German Film Award in a split decision for his lead performance here. This film is one that had also a sequel, but in a really rare case it took 15 years until the second film came out. Films 3 and 4 followed quicker. Merkatz, now in his mid-80s, is still acting, but after Antel's death it seems unlikely that a fifth film will be made at some point. On its IMDb page, the film is categorized as a historic drama, but I thought there was also some comedy in here, probably rather subtle on most occasions and not too obvious and it's the typical Austrian sense of humor that not everybody will appreciate. This film was also submitted by Austria to the Oscars in the Foreign Language category, but it did not manage the nomination. And I must say the Academy got it right. It baffles me to see this one at a huge 8.2 rating. I cannot understand it at all. This was neither a particularly smart nor a really historically relevant film that adds anything new to the genre. Merkatz was probably the best thing about the film, but not because of being great, just because of everything else being so mediocre and forgettable. I give this 100-minute film a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

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.

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.