The Breakdown

1990 0h 3m DE

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 4

Animation

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man waits at the side of the motorway with a tow rope, waiting for a car to tow him. Many, many cars go by without stopping until the driver of a small dilapidated car takes pity on him. The rope is attached. The other end of the rope leads to a pot-hole in the road. Lurking insides the pot-hole is a surprise.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Klaus Georgi
Writers: Klaus Georgi, Lutz Stützner, Klaus Georgi
Languages: No Language
Countries: East Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 3-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Klaus Georgi, shot by Brigitte Schönberner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anita Uebe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0124043 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Klaus Georgi directs. Brigitte Schönberner behind the camera. Anita Uebe cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in East Germany. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 3-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Klaus Georgi, shot by Brigitte Schönberner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Anita Uebe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6IMDB entry: tt0124043 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Brigitte Schönberner
Editing: Anita Uebe
Runtime: 3 min · 0h 3m
Status: Released
Original language: DE
IMDB: The Breakdown (1990)

Also by

Klaus Georgi

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-01-22
★ 6/10
A man whose dad must have mated with a stork is hitching by a busy road with a long piece of rope. Various critters and cars drive past him but nobody wants to stop to pick him up. Then an old banger politely ties his rope to his engine and next thing our chap had dived down an hole in the ground and remerges atop a presidential style motorcade that wouldn't have looked out of place in "Evita". Hopefully a reward for the driver who stopped? It's basic animation with quite a militaristically lively score that's worth a few minutes but I doubt I will ever recall it.

Production companies