Der Lumpenmann (1982)

Richard Müller, a dealer in scrap materials, is a down-to-earth older gentleman who calls himself “the Ragman.” He is very happy spending time with the ordinary people in his neighborhood, while his son Peter has chosen a more prestigious path. Peter is studying medicine and is about to marry into a highly respected family whose father is a municipal building director. He tells his future in-laws that his father, Richard, heads the “Department for the Organization and Procurement of Secondary Raw Materials,” because he does not want them to see him as the son of a humble scrap dealer. Peter does his best to keep his lie going, but with the engagement approaching, he has to tell his father the truth. Richard is initially furious that Peter is ashamed of his background, but eventually agrees to play along. However, Richard has a very different ulterior motive: during the upcoming renovation of his neighborhood’s street, the construction company plans, for convenience’s sake, simply to pave over the old tram tracks still there rather than remove them first. That is something a scrap dealer cannot stomach. So Richard wants to speak to the higher authority—and that is municipal building director Willi Kurski, whom Richard now seeks out privately. Willi Kurski, Peter’s future father-in-law, had asked an acquaintance about the supposed department head Müller. Since there really is an R. Müller in the ministry’s “Department for the Organization and Procurement of Secondary Raw Materials,” Building Director Willi Kurski assumes this must be Peter’s father. When Richard unexpectedly turns up at his door, Kurski is unsure how to deal with a ministry official and is therefore receptive to Richard’s request. But Kurski soon discovers the deception and strikes back. He promptly shows up at Richard’s scrap-buying station, pretending he has come to drop off bottles. Although Richard initially denies being the Müller whom Kurski knows as the supposed department head, he eventually admits it, and everything is cleared up. Both are glad that from then on they can deal with each other normally and no one has to pretend anymore.