The Scarecrow

The first day at her new school is approaching and Lena is extremely nervous, as she has no idea of what's expecting her. She's just moved to live with her grandfather in a small, idyllic town on a river. Her family originally came from here but was later scattered across the whole country. Lena's grandfather is seen as an eccentric by the townspeople, his house full of junk from times long past. Children run after him on the street and laugh at him; people say that he spends his entire pension on old pictures, meaning he doesn't have anything left over to buy a new coat. All this doesn't make Lena's new start any easier. On her first day at school, the other children surround her and call her "scarecrow" due to her old-fashioned clothes. Their tone is rough and the hierarchy between the children is implacable. But Lena manages to integrate surprisingly well at the beginning – furthermore, Dima, one of the most influential children in the class, seems to like her. This all changes in a flash when Lena takes the blame for something Dima did as proof of their friendship. The "scarecrow" is now shut out from everything without mercy. The worst thing for Lena is that Dima also plays a leading role in the bullying. The children end up going so far that the grandfather decided to leave his hometown together with his granddaughter. Before they do though, Lena stands up to her classmates one last time. (Berlinale)