sudden life-threatening situation unsuspecting people find themselves in the most normal of circumstances on a most usual day. The film also explores the rivalry between men over a woman and being faced with becoming obsolete, either by being fired like Gössmann, who is too old to learn to adapt to computer bookkeeping and apparently also Jörg, being fired for unspecified reasons and losing his lover to another man. The conflicts do not happen independently of a reasonable collective effort to escape the predicament, but they determine the conditions for it, leading to further injuries and death. A story told by Jörg to Pit in the film may be a metaphor for their situation: It is about a man who gets trapped in a refrigeration train car on its journey. He writes down notes of how the cold is killing him slowly and is found dead upon arrival. But the refrigerator was not even turned on. Reception The movie was received favourably by both audience and critics. While the characters were criticised as being shallow and stereotypical, the movie itself was called skillful and praised for the way in which it portrayed the characters and their interactions under extreme circumstances. The film received several awards for directing, acting and best camera. It was among a few West German movies to be shown in the German Democratic Republic. References External links 1984 films Films set in elevators 1984 thriller films German thriller films West German films 1980s German-language films Survival films Films directed by Carl Schenkel 1980s German films