An excellent example of a film that highlights infamous but now forgotten history, this dramedy dusts off Switzerland’s widespread surveillance campaign near the end of the Cold War, when the paranoid government spied on over 900,000 of its supposedly free citizens, who were clandestinely monitored over their political convictions.
Director-writer Lewinsky cleverly uses the scandal as backdrop to this light-hearted romp. In 1989, good-natured but somewhat clueless policeman Viktor is sent to the Zurich Schauspielhaus to observe the left-wing theater folks. After shaving off his mustache and adding jeans and a leather jacket, he’s ready for undercover duties. But as he tries to find this Stanislavsky that everyone is always talking about, he eventually succumbs to the charm of the chaotic life of an artist. He even falls in love with the actress Odile, whom he is supposed to monitor. Now, more and more, Viktor questions his mission. (Alissa Simon)
Director Biography
Born in 1978 in Kassel, Germany, Micha Lewinsky is a writer and director based in Switzerland. His features include The Friend (Der Freund) (2008), Will You Marry Us? (Die Standesbeamtin) (2009) and A Decent Man (Nichts passiert) (2015). One-Way to Moscow (Moskau Einfach!) (2020) is his most recent film.
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