Villagers in the Westerwald remember one of their own, Bouchbennersch Otto. He was born Otto Müller in 1907, survived two world wars, learned to be a bookbinder and later became the beadle. Otto was known all over the village and in the surrounding villages. And he did stick out somewhat: unlike everyone else, someone who was different, had aberrant thoughts and feelings and spoke differently, also a man of extreme emotional intelligence, a gifted pub entertainer and most certainly a desperate man in the line of Woyzeck and Kaspar Hauser. Under Hitler Otto was sterilised by force; he died an alcoholic in a home in the early 1990s. Janina Jung has composed a beautifully modern “heimatfilm” with “Bouchbennersch Otto”, whose best moments offer us a flashing glimpse of how memories always shed a light on those who remember, too.
Ralph Eue
Golden Dove in the International Short Documentary Competition 2012