Hartwig Strobel

Winter of 1943. Cheerful, shy beginning of a tender love between the electric fitter Paul, who works on the estate on the power poles and the girl Anna. Both encounter each other during the war on a Mecklenburg estate. The three buxom and arrogant maids Elsa I, II and III, who also work in the manor, provide wit and pleasure.

Two doctors, a German and a Czech brain surgeon, meet in a Berlin hospital, unaware of how fatefully they are linked by events from a dark past. A trip to a congress in Prague and an encounter with the wife of his Czech colleague force the German chief surgeon to rethink his previous life. The film deals with the explosive topic of the extent and causes of complicity in the crimes of National Socialism.

Two people meet again by chance after years of separation: Monika and Winfried. Monika used to work as a sales clerk, now she works as a kindergarten teacher. She has a son by Winfried, but he knows nothing about it. Winfried graduated from university and went on to become a successful journalist. They were both very happy to see each other again and spend a nice day together. But despite all the things they have to tell each other, one thing remains central: why did they break up back then and can they make a new start together? Monika remembers the good times she had with Winfried years ago. Back then, Winfried was superior to her and had leased success. Today he is struggling with many problems in his job and it seems that Monika has "overtaken" him in many respects. But Winfried, currently an embittered man, is given a chance in the movie's story to regain human sovereignty. And perhaps one day he could even be a good father to his son, of whose existence he was previously unaware.

Four directors - four styles - four episodes, all relating the events of a single night which has entered the history books: August 12-13, 1961. There are thousands of complex narratives connected with the frontier drawn through the middle of Berlin, and each episode relates the story of a difficult decision made on that night...

Karoline Gluth is approaching forty, has an 18-year-old son who is studying and is therefore independent. She decides to start a new life and says goodbye to the family inn on the island of Rügen, where she earned a good living as a cook. She buys a little house on the outskirts of Berlin - based on a photo. The reality, however, looks less favourable than the picture. The house is close to collapse and has an illegal occupant, Christian. She evicts him, but he helps her through the jungle of organising tradesmen and materials. In the process, she meets construction brigadier Herbert Kotbuß, clashes with him - and impresses him. Karoline struggles through, the money runs out, she even has to sell her car, and in the end the house is still pretty much a patchwork. But she has realised her ambition for herself - a new independent life begins.

The time is World War II, and Juergen Siebusch and his mother are retreating along with the German army, just ahead of the invading Russian forces. Both mother and son hole up in the town of Hohengoerse, where Juergen finds some work watching over sheep - and learns a bit about the facts of sheep life that he extrapolates to some advantage when he meets the appealing Amelie, daughter of the landowner. He first helps Amelie out and later applies his new-found knowledge in a barn, appropriately enough. As the Red Army draws near, Juergen deserts a hastily put-together "people's force," as he prefers the barn to the gun. Russian soldiers are shown sleeping and snoring next to their tanks, and the local fascist executed - the war is over. When the new Communist government sets up a land reform package, Amelie's mother's land gets divided up into small plots for small farmers.

Winter of 1943. Cheerful, shy beginning of a tender love between the electric fitter Paul, who works on the estate on the power poles and the girl Anna. Both encounter each other during the war on a Mecklenburg estate. The three buxom and arrogant maids Elsa I, II and III, who also work in the manor, provide wit and pleasure.

Two doctors, a German and a Czech brain surgeon, meet in a Berlin hospital, unaware of how fatefully they are linked by events from a dark past. A trip to a congress in Prague and an encounter with the wife of his Czech colleague force the German chief surgeon to rethink his previous life. The film deals with the explosive topic of the extent and causes of complicity in the crimes of National Socialism.

Two people meet again by chance after years of separation: Monika and Winfried. Monika used to work as a sales clerk, now she works as a kindergarten teacher. She has a son by Winfried, but he knows nothing about it. Winfried graduated from university and went on to become a successful journalist. They were both very happy to see each other again and spend a nice day together. But despite all the things they have to tell each other, one thing remains central: why did they break up back then and can they make a new start together? Monika remembers the good times she had with Winfried years ago. Back then, Winfried was superior to her and had leased success. Today he is struggling with many problems in his job and it seems that Monika has "overtaken" him in many respects. But Winfried, currently an embittered man, is given a chance in the movie's story to regain human sovereignty. And perhaps one day he could even be a good father to his son, of whose existence he was previously unaware.

Four directors - four styles - four episodes, all relating the events of a single night which has entered the history books: August 12-13, 1961. There are thousands of complex narratives connected with the frontier drawn through the middle of Berlin, and each episode relates the story of a difficult decision made on that night...

Karoline Gluth is approaching forty, has an 18-year-old son who is studying and is therefore independent. She decides to start a new life and says goodbye to the family inn on the island of Rügen, where she earned a good living as a cook. She buys a little house on the outskirts of Berlin - based on a photo. The reality, however, looks less favourable than the picture. The house is close to collapse and has an illegal occupant, Christian. She evicts him, but he helps her through the jungle of organising tradesmen and materials. In the process, she meets construction brigadier Herbert Kotbuß, clashes with him - and impresses him. Karoline struggles through, the money runs out, she even has to sell her car, and in the end the house is still pretty much a patchwork. But she has realised her ambition for herself - a new independent life begins.

The time is World War II, and Juergen Siebusch and his mother are retreating along with the German army, just ahead of the invading Russian forces. Both mother and son hole up in the town of Hohengoerse, where Juergen finds some work watching over sheep - and learns a bit about the facts of sheep life that he extrapolates to some advantage when he meets the appealing Amelie, daughter of the landowner. He first helps Amelie out and later applies his new-found knowledge in a barn, appropriately enough. As the Red Army draws near, Juergen deserts a hastily put-together "people's force," as he prefers the barn to the gun. Russian soldiers are shown sleeping and snoring next to their tanks, and the local fascist executed - the war is over. When the new Communist government sets up a land reform package, Amelie's mother's land gets divided up into small plots for small farmers.