This esoteric comedy is designed specifically for linguists who are fluent in German - or native German speakers with a passion for language used in the service of (as one reviewer put it) "intellectual anti-intellectualism." Others may find the film's rapid-fire wordplay which skillfully subverts the grammatical and linguistic conventions of the German language difficult or frustrating to follow. The story, such as it is, is that Mixwix is the owner of a department store who literally squats on the roof of his store, while a horde of attendants flatter him and look after his every imaginable want. Even the name of the owner is a play on words, connoting someone who masturbates. The symbol is apt, in that this almost onanistic fantasy is intended to poke fun at the awful seriousness of Germany's intellectual classes. Director Herbert Achternbusch, who has been at this sort of drollery since 1971, has numerous fans in Germany.
by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
