Irmgard and Rolf

Jochen (Gottfried John) and the other tool makers in his crew find out that their business is moving to the suburbs. For most of them, this means a longer commute, or they must move. The workers start to ask questions: If a new factory is being built, isn’t it time to think about improving working conditions? Eventually, the group develops an idea about how to organize their own work more effectively, and to their surprise, management agrees to an experiment based on the model they have suggested. But if improvement means more freedom, independence, autonomy, it also implies more responsibility, harder work, more risks. This is a learning experience for all of them, including Rolf (Rudolf Waldemar Brem), who learns why a profit made by group makes must be evenly distributed to the group. And even Irmgard (Irm Hermann) learns something—not just about her beloved Rolf, but about workers as well. (Adapted from notes by The Fassbinder Foundation)