Title: Der zerbrochene Krug
In a small Dutch Village there lies a very large man. Judge Adams who is supposed to be the arm in the law of the small village and in some cases maybe even its mayor. His life seems a simple one. He wakes up with a massive hangover and various bruises upon his head.
He would wish for nothing more but to crawl back in bed and forget whatever may have happened. But alas his day is far from over. His local clerk informs him but the local County Judge (Walter) is on his way to observe his proceedings. and this leads Judge Adams into a frenzy. His clothes are ruffled and stained is courtly wig is missing and he has a small group of local villagers screaming and squatting over a broken jug.
The broken jug to become something of a focal point for a much bigger issue. For The Jug was technically broken by Ruprecht. Who even admits so much to accidentally knocking the thing over. But this only happened because he was assaulting some assailant who he thought was trying to harass or molest his girlfriend and soon-to-be wife (Eva). And his description of the strange fellow along with his description of how he dealt him many blows lines up perfectly with the injuries upon Judge Adams head. This makes judge Walter all the more curious as he starts linking the dots. But it seems Judge Adams can keep his head above water as long as he can keep the entire situation chaotic.
This becomes all the more difficult as evidence starts piling up against Judge Adams. Everything from his missing wig showing up at the crime scene to eyewitness testimony from various people describing a man who seem to look and act similar to that of the judge along with a snow trail leading right to the judges home. Eventually the town grows weary of this and decides to attack Judge Adams rushing him out of town. Judge Walter more amused and angry decides to give the position of Judge to the clerk who had been recording the entire session to begin with. And those heads back to his local town to deal with more pressing matters.
It's a fun little movie. It's more resembling of a play than anything else, especially considering that 95% of the entire film takes place in one room. With little to no music and only character interaction to get you bye. The story is comedic and fun in the way the entire case unfolds in front of you. It's amusing to watch the acting from Emil Jannings is just fantastic. He has such an exaggerated over-the-top look. And then to convey that with his Superior played by Friedrich Kayßler who has a much more stolid and straight-laced approach is just amusing. Then mixing in the hub of the rest of the villagers in the town makes for even more entertainment.
Perhaps one of the best examples of a doing more with less. One set, one small group of actors a few cameras and minimal props. No need of ridiculous special effects, shaky cameras or God knows what else. Turns out a film can be interesting merely by its story.
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