Since 1973, Kluge's theoretical writing about contemporary society has stressed the emergence of potentially dangerous new social spheres controlled by business and industry which exist outside public scrutiny. In Strong Man Ferdinand, he explores one such space through the tragicomic story of Ferdinand Rieche, an ex-policeman who dreams of becoming a CIA operative. Rieche is hired as the security director of an industrial plant. Fanatically devoted to order, if not to the law, he zealously constructs a command post inside the factory, organizes a paramilitary force, conducts combat exercises, stages raids on his own facility, and detains employees suspected of contacts with competitors. Dogged surveillance of company officers leads him to uncover a plan to sell the business and to arrest a director for "treason." Fired, Rieche attempts to assassinate a government minister to demonstrate how necessary security officers are... The character of Rieche, as performed by the popular television star Heinz Schubert, is both poignant and chilling. He is a notable addition to the portrait gallery of utopian dreamers who populate Kluge's cinema. Stuart Liebman