Oliver Görtz

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

Pension landlady Sophie imagined her job as mayor differently: not even the garbage collection works anymore! In order to defuse the scandal, she temporarily stores all municipal waste on her own yard. The improvisation artist gets active support from Felix, who appeares virtually with a paraglider out of the blue and skilfully turnes Sophie's head. Just now, Sophie's ex-mother-in-law Brigitte is at the door. The grande dame from Paris wants Sophie to return to her son Phillippe to prevent the unsuitable young successor who, in her opinion, does not come from a good family and only wants to take over the business. While Leonie is happy about her grandmother's visit, Sophie wants to know as little as possible about her. She is amazed at the unexpected magic that the sophisticated Brigitte unleashes on her grumpy barn occupier Barthl. He buys an elegant suit and dresses up neatly to impress the elegant elderly woman. But unfortunately more uninvited guests show up.

Pension landlady Sophie imagined her job as mayor differently: not even the garbage collection works anymore! In order to defuse the scandal, she temporarily stores all municipal waste on her own yard. The improvisation artist gets active support from Felix, who appeares virtually with a paraglider out of the blue and skilfully turnes Sophie's head. Just now, Sophie's ex-mother-in-law Brigitte is at the door. The grande dame from Paris wants Sophie to return to her son Phillippe to prevent the unsuitable young successor who, in her opinion, does not come from a good family and only wants to take over the business. While Leonie is happy about her grandmother's visit, Sophie wants to know as little as possible about her. She is amazed at the unexpected magic that the sophisticated Brigitte unleashes on her grumpy barn occupier Barthl. He buys an elegant suit and dresses up neatly to impress the elegant elderly woman. But unfortunately more uninvited guests show up.

Featurette from the Opus Arte DVD of Les Paladins by Jean-Philippe Rameau staged at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris, 2004.