Ormenis 199+69

The documentary produced with the financial support of the cavalry associations draws a critical picture of the mounted troops. The film raises the question of whether this type of weapon is still timely or just an unrealistic symbol of Swiss military will.

It shows how the animals are kept and cared for and for what purpose they are used. Off-commenting peasants express their positive views on the morale of the cavalry, but there are also officers who say that the cavalry has served its time. Imhoof himself served as a sergeant in the cavalry, the title refers to the name and number of his horse.

The film was first shown at the Solothurn Film Festival in 1970, at a time when the staff of the army organization discussed about abolishing the cavalry. The outraged cavalry associations caused a performance ban of the film after the premiere. For public performances a censored version was produced. The original version was only publicly shown again in 2002 at the Solothurn Film Festival and on television.