Art Direction
Vienna, 1956. Viennese butcher Karl Bockerer goes to Hungary to buy meat. Along with his foster son and grandchild, he is caught up in the turmoil of the Hungarian revolt against the Soviet occupiers. With some luck and a great deal of cunning, Bockerer and his family manage to escape, but the Austrian border is closed - except for the bridge to Andau...
Art Direction
Vienna, 1947. Bockerer and his wife Binerl have survived the war, though his butcher's shop was destroyed by bombs. Karl Bockerer opens up a new establishment in the center of the city. Post-war Vienna is divided into four zones in which the Allies run things and ensure that law and order prevails. This is the story of two lovers: Gustl, just returned form a POW camp, and the Russian interpreter Elena. Bockerer becomes the patron of their love. Elena's father was executed by Stalin, and the only way she can escape a similar fate is to marry an Austrian. Bockerer "buys" a husband for Elena and, full of tricks as ever, he succeeds in pulling the wool over the Russian occupier's eyes.
Art Direction
The story tells of a love which after ten years is beginning to grow old, and of the attempt to turn the imminent end into a new beginning. After ten years of eventful relationship, man and woman have finally decided to say yes to each other in an abandoned railway station on the edge of town. It is the first evening in their new home. Everything is temporary, nothing is finished. The furniture has not yet been delivered, the heating is not functioning yet, the telephone is not connected, neither is the television. They are inescapably confronted with their own selves and with each other. And although, at least at the beginning, they fervently strive for love and harmony, the past catches up with them. When he, as always, seeks to withdraw by taking flight, he discovers that his key does not fit. He is at her mercy. Ruthlessly, they call each other to account.
