Albert--Why? is the story of a small Bavarian village's inability to cope with an “outsider” - one of their own, in fact, on his return from a mental institution. Albert is a gentle giant who controls with difficulty the movements of his unwieldy body, and who stutters when he speaks. He returns from the mental hospital ready to work on the family farm, but finds that his elderly father has given the farm to a nephew. Albert is shunted out of the way. The local townspeople, labeling him the village idiot, make him the butt of ridicule; women brusquely reject his fumbling approaches. Gradually, Albert builds a protective wall by fully taking on the role given him: he becomes the village idiot.
Josef Rodl, who received the 1979 German Film Award for best new director, made this remarkable film in the village where he was raised. The villagers play themselves, and Fritz Binner, with whom Albert went to school, recreates his own past in the portrayal of Albert. Rodl considers the film “part of a project designed to meet the need for honest films about people who live in an agricultural environment - who play themselves and thereby convey an authentic picture of their milieu, their way of life, their whole being.... Until now, with a few exceptions, this milieu was either ignored or used as a trashily picturesque backdrop.” Albert--Why? is dedicated to Fritz Binner, “and all of those people who are not strong enough to defend themselves.... ...In general one can say that a community always needs a scapegoat.... A similar function was allotted to the Jews in Nazi Germany.... For Albert to live his life differently would mean that he would have to be strong - a prerequisite which even Albert couldn't fulfill. If there were people who understood his situation, one would surely be able to improve it. But this presupposes a certain political awareness and conscience. The representation of the nature, essence and function of this rural community is the political content of this film. Thus, Albert is a political figure....”