Otomo

In an unpretentious style Frieder Schlaich provides a convincing look at the everyday world of refugees, who are continuously surrounded by tension, insecurity and institutional racism. At the same time, the film is an understanding portrait of the policemen who have to do the dirty work. A report in the Stuttgarter Zeitung of 8 August 1989: a West-African asylum seeker panics when he is caught without a ticket in the tram. He flees and kills two policemen, wounding three others and is also shot himself. The report provoked anger throughout the city. The gutter press presented the wildest speculations, but the circumstances surrounding events were far from clear. Because nothing is known of the life of Frederic Otomo, Otomo is largely fictional. Schlaich tried to find out in his film what could bring someone to cause such a bloodbath. Conversations with colleagues and relatives helped him to find out more about the two policeman who were killed. The film switches between the perspective of the policemen and that of Otomo, whose life story represents that of many refugees: looking for a better life that is seldom found in the West. Without portraying the culprit as victim, Otome is both an emotional report of the last hours of his life and a sober description of modern Germany.