critics were impressed by the realism of "die schneider krankheit", which "painstakingly recreates an alternate history through a seamlessly authentic aesthetic." the editors at "sin final en el guion" suggest it is probably one of the best first films by any director. the realism achieved is of such a high degree that it was rejected by some early festivals because selectors believed archival footage had been used. as a result, disclaimers were placed at the beginning of the film to "let the viewer know that the images are original, and not extracted from real documentaries." the opening sequence and end credits, along with the dual spanish-german soundtrack, appear to have been convincing enough to lead some viewers to believe the film is genuinely of german origin (and in one case, russian). it even won a best documentary award at the .