The False Weight
Das falsche Gewicht
West Germany
1971
140 Min
Color
German
Synopsis
Blood rains from the sky over a Chagallesque landscape in this gloriously photographed epic directed by Bernhard Wicki (of The Bridge and The Longest Day). In a small, isolated Galician border village, life is comfortable only for the corrupt and the corrupted. But although the power structure of the Empire is crumbling, one local official (of the Bureau of Weights and Measures) persists in his duties, refusing to bow to the chaos engulfing him. Famous stage actor Helmut Qualtinger gives a virtuoso performance as inspector Eibenschutz, who passes on the accuracy of others’ scales without coming to terms with the burdens he carries himself. A barren atmosphere of muted savagery reigns throughout this award-winning film, which is rooted much more in the tradition of Eastern European cinema than in the films of the West. —San Francisco Film Festival
Director
Bernhard Wicki
Bernhard Wicki was born in 1919 in Austria and died in 2000 in Munich. He studied Acting and Photography in Berlin and Vienna, followed by theater work in Vienna, Munich, Salzburg and Zurich. His first film role was in Der fallende Stern (1950). Thereafter, he starred in numerous other films including Die letzte Bruecke (1954), Es geschah am 20. Juli (1955), Weil du arm bist, musst du frueher sterben (1956), Die Zuercher Verlobung, and the Italian production Die Nacht (La notte, 1961). He made his directorial debut with the documentary Warum sind sie gegen uns (1958), a film about youth problems in the Federal Republic of Germany. He went on to direct Miracle of Malachias (Das Wunder des Malachias, 1961), the Duerrenmatt-adaptation_ The Visit _(Der Besuch,1964), Die Zitadelle (1977), The Longest Day (Der laengste Tag, 1962), Morituri (1965), Karpfs Karriere… read more
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