Cinema | "Muxmäuschenstill X": Radical Revolt

Those who are said to be dead live longer – as does Jan Henrik Stahlberg 's cult character Mux. In Marcus Mittermeier's mockumentary "Muxmäuschenstill," he single-handedly punished "serious criminals" such as pool urinators, fare dodgers, and speeders, capturing their acts of penance on video. In the sequel, "Muxmäuschenstill X," he returns after years in a vegetative state as a radical Robin Hood figure.

Mux, as always dissatisfied with society, declares war on neoliberalism in "The Manifesto of Muxism." He begins in the heart of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Elstertrebnitz on the Mulde River, this time having his 20-year-old long-term care worker Karsten (Tilman Vellguth) document his actions on his cell phone. He hires unemployed people for his mission to improve the world. Supporters, who all live in the same house, receive 3,000 euros a month. Ideas like these serve the film well. Ironically, for many, money is more important than idealism. Mux uses capitalism, however, to kick people above, rather than those below.

Mux uses capitalism to kick not downwards, but upwards.

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The revolutionary has a solution for problems like long-term unemployment and the ever-widening gap between rich and poor: the solidarity job. Following the motto "Make 3 into 4," three people are supposed to work one day less per week, thus creating space for an additional position. This job is paid for by people who have reached the very top of the wealth pyramid. That this doesn't happen voluntarily is part of the nature of the Mux. He enforces his ideas by force, if necessary, hacking into bank accounts to find tax evaders and blackmailing them into buying themselves out of debt. Furthermore, they have to – quite literally – eat the soup they have brought upon themselves. They are provided with pea soup from the food bank, while the needy feast on their plates in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

To create the impression of authentic cell phone footage, director and lead actor Jan Henrik Stahlberg uses poorly exposed video and audio material. Occasionally, Mux appears as a narrator, interspersing his thoughts on the "neglected elites through self-enrichment," but mostly he recedes in favor of the fake documentary images. "Muxmäuschenstill X" is not a typical movie; instead, it brings imagined reality into the cinema. While the character of the psychopathic Mux is exaggerated, the mechanisms by which political movements are created are not.

Mux seeks proximity to the citizens, rings doorbells, and targets the homeless and unemployed who support him, his weakest link. He holds a political rally over delicious barbecue food, creating a sense of "we" through shared activities and carefree evenings together. At one point in the film, a woman exclaims enthusiastically: "It's starting. Something's finally happening!" That's probably not so far removed from the reality of some people.

The Muxists, with their white M masks, look like "anonymous for the poor." Mux is portrayed as a Don Quixote figure who has finally figured out how to win a battle against windmills (windmill by windmill). Mux is a lone fighter who would like to change the entire world. As in the previous film, he once again seeks out a muse and figurehead (Sophie Roeder), who, like almost all the other supporting characters, turns out to be far too pale.

Only the PR manager (Bettina Hoppe), who confronts him as an "old white man," stands out. The dark humor from Mux's first film only shines through in "Muxmäuschenstill X" because the film pursues a completely different agenda. It indicts tax evaders and wealth-oriented politics—represented by a middle-class citizen—and offers, albeit somewhat simplistic, solutions to current problems.

Stahlberg can do more than just entertain. To show the film to as many people as possible, he has been touring rural regions with free screenings since last year. Anyone who wants to can join the "Muxists Club" for a more just and solidarity-based society in real life.

"Muxmäuschenstill X": Germany 2024. Directed and written by Jan Henrik Stahlberg. Starring: Jan Henrik Stahlberg, Tilman Vellguth, Bettina Hoppe, Sophie Roeder, and Henriette Simon. 103 minutes. Showing in theaters.