Watching Karl Valentin argue in Beim Rechtsanwalt

Is it worth the time?

If you like comedy that feels like a slow-motion car crash of misunderstandings, then yes. It’s a tiny sliver of a movie, maybe ten minutes of pure, stubborn people talking over each other. If you need a plot that moves or high-tech thrills, stay far, far away. This is for the theater nerds and the people who collect dusty film reels in their brains.

Karl Valentin and Liesl Karlstadt have this way of moving that makes the whole room feel like it’s shrinking. They aren’t just acting; they’re *suffering* through a conversation.

There is a moment where the dialogue just loops on itself, and you can tell the camera operator was probably just as confused as the lawyer in the scene. The timing is so stiff it almost feels like a parody of a legal drama. It’s not smooth, and honestly, that’s why it works.

It reminded me a bit of the frantic, claustrophobic energy in The Crime of Monsieur Lange, though much less polished. The way they look at each other—total lack of trust, eyes darting everywhere—is just perfect. 🙄

The little things

• The lawyer’s desk looks like it hasn't been dusted since the Kaiser was in charge.
• Valentin’s suit is about two sizes too big, which somehow makes his grumbling funnier.
• There’s a silence right before the end that feels like it lasts for a century.
• Nobody actually gets anything done, which is exactly how these meetings always go in real life.

It’s barely a movie, really. It’s more of a recorded headache. You watch it and you feel like you’ve been trapped in a waiting room for an hour, even though it’s over before you can finish a cup of coffee. It’s not trying to be Downfall or anything grand; it’s just two people being impossible.

I caught myself wishing they’d just stop talking for a second, but then they’d say something so petty that I had to laugh. It’s exhausting. I love it.