Movie about German or Swiss man on ski holiday

May 2, 2015 7:44 PM

Trying to remember a film I saw on television years ago. I was either German or Swiss and was about a heavyset man on a ski holiday. I remember it was very nearly silent (but was not a silent movie; it looked relatively modern) and everything was a sort of a disaster for him, and I remember it being unexpectedly sweet, and that's all I remember. Hope me!
posted by maxsparber to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

I barely know you, but......Make Love to Me?
posted by the webmistress at 7:53 PM on May 2, 2015

Response by poster: No, this film felt more 1960s, and was really a series of comic set pieces about skiing and being in a ski chalet or something like that. I remember the overarching quality of the film was enduring constant small frustrations.
posted by maxsparber at 8:22 PM on May 2, 2015

Black and white? Or in color?
posted by Carillon at 8:55 PM on May 2, 2015

Response by poster: Color.
posted by maxsparber at 10:15 PM on May 2, 2015

Norwegian rather than German: was it Nord?
posted by davidjmcgee at 1:49 AM on May 3, 2015

Or Swedish, but filmed in Switzerland and featuring a somewhat heavyset Norwegian comedian as one of the leads: Skiroller? (some clips here, w/o subtitles). It isn't very silent, though, but ends with a wedding (and an unusual wedding gift).
posted by effbot at 8:27 AM on May 3, 2015

Was it one of Jacques Tati's movies about M. Hulot? I know Les Vacances de M. Hulot was about a middle-aged Frenchman vacationing at the seaside, but maybe there's a winter vacation version? These movies are largely silent and gently parody "modern," post-war (WWII) European life.
posted by primate moon at 3:58 PM on May 3, 2015

Response by poster: Never mind, I think I chased the film down, and it's Henry Phipps Goes Skiing, available on YouTube. Looks like it isn't set in Europe after all, but Massachusetts, which is sort of the Europe of America.
posted by maxsparber at 4:59 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Just watched it again and I can see why I thought it was German or Swiss -- it's shot MOS with all the voices dubbed, many with faux German accents, and seems to take place in a sort of fantasy Teutonic state, with leiderhosen and polka and dogs with brandy barrels around their neck.
posted by maxsparber at 7:21 PM on May 3, 2015 [2 favorites]