At a small rural courthouse a curious case is on the table. The facts of the case are clear, the circumstances on the other hand are very odd.
The accused are two craftsmen, father and son, two very idiosyncratic characters. Not only are they carpenters, they also think – and they are of a very provoking independence of mind. They were caught when they were watching – cigarette in hand – a burning army vehicle which they had apparently set on fire previously. So the case could be making headlines but – presumably for reasons of public interest – is kept under wraps. The proceedings in court have a familial air and become a sort of sociopsychological portrait of the small town.
The ironic, often tender and precise portrayal of the characters shows the peculiarities of Heinrich Böll’s style. Something that is meant as a rebellion has traits of an idyll. An act that was meant to explode social conventions is pressed into the social form of an amicable small town proceeding. This contradiction is the subject matter of “End of a Mission”.
