König Karl (1986)

Retiree Karl Zobawa, nicknamed “King Karl” in his neighborhood, wants to foster a greater sense of community in the apartment building at 25 Mozartallee, where he lives. The many petty squabbles among the tenants annoy him, and he hopes to pair up the building’s many single residents, which he believes would bring about greater harmony all by itself. An upcoming newspaper article about the building and its residents comes at just the right time for Zobawa. The tenants’ community is to receive an award for its exemplary order and cleanliness. However, the tenants lack personal connections with one another. A letter from the authorities makes the residents aware of this, and they realize they will have to make an effort over the next three weeks, before the article appears. Zobawa immediately draws up a concrete action plan for achieving this goal. At a tenants’ meeting, everyone votes on the proposed measures, and for the first time they are all in agreement. Over the next few weeks, the tenants are almost unrecognizable. They all behave as though they were the best of friends, being courteous, friendly, and helpful. They even organize a group trip to the theater. Zobawa is delighted, and without his noticing, several relationships and friendships form naturally among the single residents. However, these are not exactly the pairings he had in mind, and it is Zobawa’s beloved youngest, Claudia, who catches the interest of his grandson Henry, who has unexpectedly come to visit his grandfather for a few weeks. When the tenants discover that Zobawa has been meddling in their private lives and wanted to pair them up according to his own ideas, they are outraged. The resulting argument gets so heated that they shun Karl. Even Charlotte Krusemark, a peer of his whom he values, turns away from him. The tenants even remove Zobawa from his position as their representative and appoint Charlotte as acting head. “King Karl” is initially somewhat disappointed, but still feels that his campaign has achieved something and that it is finally possible to live in the building again. He is completely surprised when the entire tenants’ community joins together to wish him a happy birthday. Even Charlotte Krusemark makes up with her Karl. In the end, Zobawa admits to the tenants that he made up the story about the newspaper article in order to bring peace to the building. But, to his surprise, the district authority has noticed the exemplary tenants’ community and really does intend to award it soon as part of the “Join In” competition.