Die fabelhafte Welt des Dr. Cadéot

Dr. Cadéot is over 90 years old and still works as a vet in the country. He lives in the Gascogne region of southwest France with his brother and sister-in-law, a goose called Lily and a small flock of sheep. The mischievous, dishevelled old man treats animals on a wooden table covered in a wipe-clean tablecloth. Relics from a long life can be found all over the house, the telephone hangs on the wall, and paper is stacked up in piles. Ulrike Pfeiffer’s DIE FABELHAFTE WELT DES DR. CADÉOT portrays a microcosm that seems to stem from a different era. The camera shows the sunlight streaming in, wind and weather, day and night, different seasons, it glides along old wallpaper and over the surfaces of the floor and walls. A narrator counts the sheep or says sentences such as “It’s about to rain.” The music composed by Helge Schneider places its own emphasis – as do the quotes from several 400-year-old animal fables by Jean de La Fontaine. (Birgit Kohler)