Der Fürsorger (2009) Reviews

• This is Switzerland - a must see!

  Daniel Wiener2009-12-25

  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.

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