Der Storch streikt: A weird, frantic romp

Is Der Storch streikt worth your time? If you like messy, frantic comedies from the early days of sound film, probably. If you want a movie that makes sense or respects the laws of physics, stay away.

The whole premise is just a classic setup for chaos. You have the rich uncle from America—always a trope, right?—and the inevitable frantic scramble to keep up appearances. It feels a lot like Scrambled Weddings in that regard, though with more screaming and less actual logic.

Watching the shop clerk try to keep his cool while his life is falling apart is surprisingly watchable. At one point, he loses his clothes in a washroom. I am not entirely sure how he got into that position, but the camera lingers on his panicked expression for a solid ten seconds too long. It’s the kind of moment that makes you laugh just because of how awkward it feels.

The supporting cast is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Sig Arno has this way of blinking that feels like he is trying to communicate with someone off-screen. It’s distracting, honestly. But in a movie like this, maybe distraction is the point.

The pacing is all over the place

Sometimes the film moves at breakneck speed, and other times it just stops dead. There is a scene in the store that drags on forever. It’s just people walking around, looking busy, while the plot waits for someone to say something important. It reminded me a bit of the aimless energy in No Parking.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Der Storch streikt (1931) through its definitive frames.

I kept waiting for the uncle to finally show up and just blow the whole thing wide open. When he does, it is less of a reveal and more of a loud interruption. The energy shift is jarring, like when a radio station suddenly switches from jazz to heavy metal.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a fun way to kill an hour if you don't mind some fuzzy audio and weird editing? Sure. 🤷‍♂️

There is a weird lack of transitions between the indoor scenes. One minute they are in the store, the next they are magically in a hallway. It’s like the editor was working on a deadline and just decided to cut wherever the tape got tangled. It gives the whole thing this frantic, dreamlike quality that I sort of enjoyed, even if it was technically a disaster.

If you have seen The Marriage Speculation, you will recognize the rhythm here. It is all about the panic of being caught in a lie. But where other films might handle that with grace, this one handles it with a sledgehammer.

I think I liked the washroom scene best. Not because it was high art, but because the actor looked like he genuinely wanted to be anywhere else on earth. We have all been there, pal.