Der kleine Riese (1985)

Hans Engler, a modest, reserved man, lives in Hamburg. He has never married and has no family of his own, instead renting a room from a married couple in simple lodgings. It is on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn, of all places, that Engler earns his living as a waiter in a seedy “establishment,” amid surroundings where the peaceable Engler does not really fit in. He usually avoids arguments; Engler knows that, because of his slight build, no one on the rough-and-tumble Kiez would take him seriously as an opponent. So he does his work every evening and stays out of everything else. His colleagues, and especially the women who work at the establishment, appreciate him precisely because he is not rough or brutal, but always friendly and courteous. One day, Agnes, a hostess, approaches Engler and asks him to acknowledge paternity of her illegitimate daughter, Martina. Agnes knows full well that Engler will not be able to refuse her this favor. Hans Engler agrees, meets Martina, and befriends the girl he is said to be the father of. Shortly afterward, Agnes dies following a major operation. Engler’s situation changes abruptly, becoming threatening: Agnes had hidden from him the fact that Martina’s real father is Albert Ruloff, a brutal and ruthless pimp who wants to turn Martina into a prostitute. But first, Engler must revoke his acknowledgment of paternity. Ruloff resorts to violence, brutally beating the defenseless Engler, going to his home, and threatening him in no uncertain terms. He even threatens to beat him badly enough to land him in hospital the next time he sees him at the club—or, if necessary, to kill him. Just when Engler’s situation seems hopeless, a transformation comes over him. He stands up to Ruloff, reprimands him, and points out the legal situation, which holds that Engler is the father of 16-year-old Martina. Engler declares firmly that there is no changing that now, and that if Ruloff wants to, he can go ahead and beat him to death right there in front of everyone, since he has announced that he would do so often enough. But after the club falls completely silent, Ruloff lowers his gaze, takes a pull on his cigar, and leaves the room, defeated. Engler’s performance and unexpected resistance have unnerved him. For Lizzy, the barmaid, it is now clear who will emerge as the winner; from then on, she calls Hans Engler “the Little Giant.”