The avant-garde painter Kompowski, annoyed by the critics who come to see him in his workshop, goes to the café. The drunken servant, Kasperl, takes advantage of his absence to paint a canvas with a very bad view of Munich. Gallery owners who had come to acquire the master's works bought his paintings from him for a thousand marks. The crowd comes to cheer the artist. But the critic Schaikeles eventually learns the identity of the real creator of the painting. Anzenmaier and Burger, the gallery owners, come to claim their money when Kompowski returns home, and the fight becomes widespread. Kasperl puts an end to this by smashing the paintings over the heads of the gallery owners and knocking Gombrowski out with his easel.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Blümel Otto

Germany

Munich

Printed

Painting

Futurism

Modernity

Expressionism

Art criticism

Drunkenness

Beer

Mean trick

Celebrity

Satirical

Burlesque

Farcical

German

Painter

Kasperl

Reviewer

Crowd

Monologue

Versified passages

Caricature

Off-stage voice

Song

Misunderstanding

Parody of formal language

Chorus

Instrumental tune

Brawl

Dialect

Die Maler

The painters

Polichinelle no longer wants to play traditional puppet shows. He aspires to be modern and leaves his puppeteer to become a television star. The puppeteer, who is committed to tradition, grieves for Polichinelle and continues his shows with other puppets. Polichinelle is criticized by the viewers and causes trouble for the television program. He asks for the puppeteer’s help. Eventually, he comes back to him.

Video footage

Adults

France

Montpellier

Tradition

Rupture

Television

Whim

Stardom

Comical

Humorous

Black comedy

Robert Destanque, Le Caprice de Polichinelle, 2003.

French

Polichinelle

Puppeteer

Landlord

Constable

Colombine

Arlecchino

Pierrot

Announcer

Television presenter (woman)

Speakerine

Voice

Address to the public

Dialogue between actor and puppet

Talking on the phone

Screen on stage

Throws

Word warping

Le Caprice de Polichinelle

Polichinelle's Whim