Der Komantsche

Achternbusch's tragic comedy begins with the figure of the Comanche (Achternbusch) lying comatose in a large country sanatorium, where he is the last surviving patient. Refusing to wake up to a loveless world, the Comanche prefers his own dreams-filled with images of tropical Sri Lankan landscapes, elephants roaming the jungles, and smiling native girls-to life's sad realities. His doctor manages to extract these dream images from his patient with a video unit, which the Comanche's wife records and sells to television. After awakening, Achternbusch's obstinate protagonist shifts (in a punning transformation) from comatose to Comanche and wanders Munich in full Indian regalia until, at last, the real world beckons him back onto the soccer field of the Olympic Stadium.