Der Willi-Busch-Report (1979)

The Cold War era. In the east of the Federal Republic of Germany, right on the border with the GDR. The siblings Adelheid and Wilhelm Busch have inherited the legendary “Werra Post” from their father. Once a thriving newspaper, it used to supply the whole Werra Valley with news. But circulation is falling without end. The reason is the new border that has arisen in Europe and will soon become impassable, running right through Germany and the Werra Valley. Just on the western side, the small town of Friedheim has become a remote provincial backwater. Almost nothing happens anymore. If the “Werra Post” is to survive, something finally has to happen again. And so one day Wilhelm Busch decides to take events into his own hands. After all, he doesn’t bear the name of the famous cartoonist, poet and thinker for nothing. Why not stage sensational events if it helps the newspaper get out of the red? And indeed: Friedheim now even makes headlines beyond the borders: “Who Is the Telephone Vandal?”, “Is Friedheim the Center of a Spy Ring?”, “Thorn a Wonder Drug for the People of Friedheim”, “Five-Year-Old Girl Predicts Reunification!”… More and more often, a post-yellow Messerschmitt Kabinenroller now speeds along the border installations again. Inside is the speedy reporter Willi, who will soon take to the skies like a pilot.