Gelbe Kirschen (2001)

Martin Puntigam plays Rudi Zöchinger, a young rural gendarme from a town in Upper Austria called Sankt Urban, on the Austrian border with the Czech Republic. His goal is to build a career with the Vienna Aliens Police, where his brother-in-law Otto Bucek works as head. In Vienna, he meets Alena, a Czech woman from Třeboň (called Wittingau by Zöchinger, its German name), a town only a few minutes from St. Urban—but on the other side of the border. Alena is now living illegally in Austria, selling sausages at a stand without a residence or work permit. At first, Rudi Zöchinger tries to obtain the necessary papers for his partner, but he runs up against the bureaucracy and the civil service. Zöchinger makes the decision to turn a blind eye to his girlfriend’s illegal residence, despite working for the Aliens Police. While he spends his days tracking down, arresting, and deporting foreigners who are in the country illegally, after work he continues his relationship with an “illegal immigrant.” During a visit with his brother-in-law and superior, Otto, Otto and his wife Mitzi openly raise the subject of Alena’s origins and also ask about her residence papers. Later, Alena is arrested by the Aliens Police, separated from her son, and deported.