Der Drücker (1986)

Twenty-two-year-old Tommy still lives with his parents. The company where he was training went bankrupt, and after his time in the armed forces, Tommy was left unemployed. He has pawned his motorcycle and is constantly arguing with his father. Then he comes across a job advertisement: “Young, unattached, broke? We’re looking for young people aged 18 to 25 as male or female passengers. Weekly pay: 400 DM net.” Through a shady recruiter, Tommy meets Kalle in a pub. Kalle initially comes across as friendly and matey, and immediately promises to pay off Tommy’s debts of 5,000 marks. In return, Tommy unsuspectingly hands over his identity card and falls into Kalle’s clutches, joining one of his crews of door-to-door salespeople, which Kalle runs as boss with brutal ruthlessness. Tommy has to work more than twelve hours a day, going from door to door and talking people into magazine subscriptions with made-up, pitiful stories. The sales crew travels from city to city in a shabby minibus and lives in run-down shared rooms. Psychological and physical violence are part of everyday life. Pay comes only irregularly. And only those who bring in “slips” (sell subscriptions) count for anything in the group. Anyone who fails to deliver the daily number of slips demanded by Erich gets into trouble. Those who perform exceptionally well, on the other hand, are fawned over and even become crew boss Kalle’s personal favorite. Anyone who gets out of line is brought into line by crew leader Erich. And when the need arises, Erich has a willing helper in the hot-tempered Timmi. Tommy soon knows he has to get out. But how is he supposed to do that? The crews operate like cults, unwilling to let their sheep go under any circumstances—like the Mafia or slaveholders.