Zurich. Bodmer and Fischer are naturalization officials who visit immigrants at their homes and review if they are "worthy" to receive Swiss citizenship. They visit and secretly follow Italian Grimolli, married to a Swiss woman, who works at a pastry store. Bodmer also reviews German doctor Starke, who wants to open his own psychiatric clinic. Finally, there is a Yugoslav woman, Milena Vakulic, who works as a dancer, and who secretly starts a relationship with Fischer. Bodmer is nosy and very strict towards immigrants. Grimolli and Starke become citizens, while Bodmer is furious upon finding out that Fischer is in a relationship with Vakulic, presuming she wants to only use him to get her citizenship, but Fischer quits his job and leaves with Vakulic for Amsterdam.
The highest grossing Swiss movie of the 20th century, a one that sold over 940,000 tickets at the local box office, "The Swissmakers" once again prove that popular local movies have a hard time reaching a universal appeal outside their borders. Slow, dry and not particularly funny, "The Swissmakers" seem dated today in its story, style and execution, but are still relevant in their theme of imigrants trying to obtain a Swiss citizenship, since this is a topic that envelops numerous Western countries up to this day. The director Rolf Lyssy satirizes the process in the form of two naturalization officials—the hardline, exclusionist Bodmer and the understanding, open-minded Fischer, who welcomes immigrants—but simply has no sense how to build up a gag. He misses so many potentials in here. The opening sequence is the only brilliant one: in a class, an official is holding a lecture about what traits an immigrant should posses if he or she want to obtain a Swiss citizenship, and the four apprentices mention these adjectives: "Solid", "Wonderful", "Incredible", "Super-loyal"... All the while the official is writing the letters on the blackboard, which all add up to one word in the end: "Swiss". The opening title then shows up, adding two more words above this word: "The Swiss-Makers". Clever. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie just gives up after that, and runs on autopilot the entire time. In one sympathetic scene, Bodmer is interviewing the boss of one of the applicants, Grimolli, who tells him: "Between us, Grimolli is a better Swiss than many who don't have to apply". Another good gag is when the naturalization commission questions Gimolli about the Swiss history: "If William Tell were alive today, whom would he shoot?" - "Gessler. Because if Tell was here, Gessler would be here, too." However, except for these mild jokes, the movie has little else to offer, exhausting itself with empty walks of Bodmer being nosy and spying on his clients during their private lives, which simply isn't that funny as the director thought it would be.
Grade:+
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