Directed by:
Matthias LuthardtScreenplay:
Meike HauckCinematography:
Christian MarohlComposer:
Matthias PetschePlots(1)
One summer's day 16-year-old Paul suddenly turns up uninvited at the door of his relatives. The last family reunion a few months before was a sad occasion: Paul's father had committed suicide, and now Paul seeks refuge in the seemingly intact world of this middle-class family, which he enjoyed visiting as a child. At first his Aunt Anna is less than enthusiastic about his visit, since she is throwing her entire ambition into training her likewise 16year-old son Robert, a highly talented pianist, for the entrance examination at a music school. When Anna's husband Stefan unexpectedly has to leave on a business trip, Paul makes himself useful by repairing the weatherworn swimming pool. Her initial reserve soon turns into affection, and Paul also feels attracted to her. The nearer the date of Robert's audition approaches, the greater the tension between mother and son grows. Anna pulls Paul over to her side of this conflict and soon has him at her mercy, exploiting his emotional weakness with no thought to the consequences. When the situation gets out of control, Paul is driven to an act of desperation. (Berlinale)
(more)Reviews (1)
An intimate psychological drama for four people plays a game between them on two levels. On one hand, it is the arrival of an unexpected and unwanted guest. The meeting reminds us of old family conflicts and animosity and this storyline addressing the problem of how to get rid of the incoming person as quickly as possible is almost a comedy. The second level of the story begins to unfold after the husband leaves on a business trip. The wife, who feels unused in the household, is going through a midlife crisis and carries bitterness from her abandoned career as a talented pianist and a pubescent young man, who is searching for an anchor point after his father's suicide and longing for love - well, that can be a dangerous combination... The film could have used some script polishing and trimming of a few scenes, but even so, it is an above-average film with quality dialogues and well-developed believable characters. Overall impression 70%. A cheap yet emotional film where everything essential takes place on the journey between the swimming pool, ping-pong table, piano, and a double bed.
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