Theo gegen den Rest der Welt (1980)

Director:

Peter F. Bringmann

Writer:

Matthias Seelig (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1980 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

Wo andere aufhören, fängt Theo erst an.

Plot:

Theo is having some bad luck. His barely paid-for truck has been stolen, and credit collectors are after him. The chase leads him across Europe. |

Plot Keywords:

Truck | Border Crossing | On The Road | Pursuit | Vehicle

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Marius Müller-Westernhagen	...	Theo Gromberg
Guido Gagliardi	...	Enno Goldini
Claudia Demarmels	...	Ines Roeggeli
Peter Berling	...	Doppel-Dieter
Carlheinz Heitmann	...	Kredithai
Udo Weinberger	...	Fernfahrer Helmut
Axel Schiessler	...	Fernfahrer Siggi
Horst Bergmann	...	Vater Camperfamilie
Ursula Strätz	...	Mutter Camperfamilie
Anette Woll	...	Tochter Camperfamilie
Inigo Gallo	...	Vater Ines
Trudi Roth	...	Mutter Ines
Oskar Hoby	...	Onkel Robert
Elmar Brunner	...	Rüdiger
Rolando Comandini	...	Beppo

Also Known As:

Theo Against the Rest of the World (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:101 min | Germany:106 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f)

Filming Locations:

Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Company:

Altura Film

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Verschwende deine Jugend (2003)

„I'm Theo from Herne, maybe you've heard about me?"

This is a Quixotic tale and a road movie one really needs a heart to get into. Theo is a young truck driver from the German Ruhr industrial region, constantly out of his depth and with the social skills of a baboon - but for that of a strangely pure mind. He is totally fearless and hell bent on recovering a truck someone stole from him. So he travels south, accompanied by his Sancho Pansa, Italian partner Enno, and a young, very straight and good hearted Swiss woman they picked up on the way. His two companions are kept busy by helping him out of the scrapes he is constantly getting into.

The greatest scenes in the movie take place in a kind of a trailer park for truckers on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. There are some heavy guys around but tiny Theo struts around making demands as if he were the boss. A hooker (Alessandra May, who according to IMDb never made a movie again, in a touching performance) instantly falls in love with him and takes him to her trailer. A really tender scene ensues where the sentence in the title of this comment is heard. As the hooker does not understand one word of German, its meaning is totally lost on her. They come out of the trailer and the main heavy of the area steps over with good news. „I have a tender heart, he tells Theo with a thick Italian accent, and I have decided: a**holes have to live too." Then he asks the hooker if Theo has paid for her services. An awkward scene ensues, the girl gets slapped by the heavy and tiny Theo punches the heavy in his six pack stomach. As he already had wounded his hand in an earlier incident he cries out in pain and falls to the ground a whimpering bundle without the heavy having done anything after Theo's punch. It's as funny as it is sad.

The musical soundtrack of this movie is magnificent.