Verdinger Review

Verdinger was a simple yet effective documentary from Switzerland as it allowed one man to tell his tragic story.

Verdinger focuses on Alfred Ryter, an 82-year-old Swiss man who at the age of seven was forced to work as a farmhand. Alfred recounts the physical and emotional abuse he suffered and how even in his golden years the trauma still affects him.

Many feature-length documentaries have often relied on having many talking heads and fancy visual tricks. Recent examples of this were The Dissident and Royalty Free. Verdinger didn’t need any of this, the filmmakers just let Alfred tell his story.

This simplicity made Verdinger a more impactful experience. Alfred’s testimony was powerful and raw. Alfred told how his hosts only gave him the bare minimum of food that forced him to eat chicken feed and steal from the farmer’s secret stash. He was forced to work like an adult and if he made a mistake he was punished with no food for a week. It was a vicious cycle because it made Alfred more desperate.

Alfred also suffered at school. He was a malnourished child who fell asleep in class and his teacher humiliated him. Alfred stated he got his revenge by peeing a little bit in the teacher’s wine bottle. It was the only form of control Alfred had in his young life.

Even as an adult Alfred was still suffering. When Alfred spoke about the farmer and his wife, there was hatred and bitterness in his voice. Justifiably so because they stole his young life. Every adult mistreated Alfred. When Alfred became an adult, he had trauma like having nightmares.

The only kind act Alfred experienced as a child was someone donating a cup so he could get a free cup of milk at school. Alfred was only treated with any sense of decency when he was an adult because he got the support and education he deserved.

It’s shocking to think this happened in living memory in Switzerland. The outside perception of Switzerland is it’s a wealthy country where this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. The idea of farm life would seem to be idyllic to many people but the documentary showed that reality was much harsher. This was symbolised by the film’s use of landscapes and scenery because the Swiss countryside was beautiful but it would have been hard to live there. The film serves as a reminder that slavery still goes on in the world.

Whilst the film allowed Alfred to speak the filmmakers also use dramatic re-enactments.  The production values were solid, and it does help make the documentary more visual. However, one bad thought I had when watching the documentary was the scenes where the young Alfred had to sleep in a barn reminded me of The Simpsons episode “The Crepes of Wrath.”

Verdinger was a heart-wrenching documentary as one man revealed all his suffering. It was a tough yet rewarding watch.