Fat World

Story

The men and women are kissing one moment, brawling the next. Hagen Trinker is one of these alcoholics and tramps. They live in Munich under bridges and in half-built buildings. They drift around streets and shopping malls during the day, aimless and with no illusions. Then Judith joins them ­ a 15 years old run-away – a princess, as one of the gang says. Hagen falls in love with her. A fairy tale begins and concludes just a moment later. But now Hagen is ready to struggle on.

Jan Schütte about Fat World:

The specific environment that so determines Hagen and Judith’s story calls for a particular approach. After all, although homelessness is an increasingly significant phenomenon, it isn’t a classic backdrop to a movie love story. The film is set here and now. That meant we chose expressly not to include explanatory flashbacks. One of the difficulties in making the film was that a lot of the shooting was in public spaces: in the station, on the streets etc. As a result we had to stage the action within the framework of a given location.

Right from the outset Jürgen Vogel was the only actor I could imagine for Fat World. He gave the figure of Hagen the physical presence needed for the crucial scenes.