Das Manko sends eleven unsuitable office workers into a development program intended for future high achievers. A mix-up turns candidates for dismissal into promising talent. Arne Feldhusen's four-part comedy builds an unusual world from that reversal.
The group moves through workplaces with almost no intelligible dialogue. Looks, bodies and sounds replace conventional exchanges. Individual psychology matters less than collective behavior, while Sophie Rois's narration resembles a nature documentary observing a peculiar herd.
An ordinary office, a smoking booth or a driverless bus becomes a stage for precisely choreographed physical comedy. Feldhusen and the ensemble rely on movement, timing and composition rather than standard punchlines. The actors work with remarkable coordination.
Music and sound are just as important. Carsten Meyer's playful score, Philipp Feit's sound design and Benjamin Ikes's editing help create something close to a live-action cartoon. A squeaking chair or a group moving at once can perform the work usually assigned to dialogue. That consistency prevents the idea from feeling merely like an overextended sketch.
Some motifs do recur too often, and later stops are not as precise as the opening. Viewers who dislike the exaggerated, word-light approach are unlikely to change their minds. The satire of performance and hierarchy is deliberately broad rather than an intricate analysis of working life.
For me, the independence of the concept is refreshing. Das Manko is silly, crafted, demanding and impressively exact. Not every gag lands, but its ensemble and audiovisual execution are exceptional. Eight out of ten.