DER OCHSENKRIEG

DER OCHSENKRIEG

DE 1920. D: Franz Osten. Cast: Thea Steinbrecher, Ernst Rückert, Fritz Greiner

This silent movie was the first work of the later Bavaria Film in 1920 and was digitally restored by the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in 2018/2019, with new music.

The Berchtesgadener Land in the 15th century: In Ramsau, under the rule of the Berchtesgaden Monastery, lives the respected farmer Runotter. One day, his wife is raped by the monastery’s canon Aschacher, who goes unpunished. As a result of the brutal act, the farmer’s wife gives birth to a child who dies shortly after birth. The “child of shame”, the deaf-mute Jakerl, grows up in an alpine hut in the care of Runotter’s daughter Jula.

When a dispute over a pasture letter escalates into abuse and death, the peasants begin a bloody rebellion against the Prince-Provost of Berchtesgaden. In essence, “Der Ochsenkrieg” is about which law applies: the customary law of the people or the formalized law represented by the bailiff.