Evelyn Opela

Rückkehr (Return) consists of two short films inspired by the director's youth: "Die Rückkehr des alten Herrn" (The return of the old lord) is a nostalgic dive into the memories of an old man who entrusts his grandson with stories of his youth. "Mein seliger Onkel" (My blessed uncle) then tells the story of the boy and his adventurous uncle. Both stories take place in a picturesque small town.

The Orient Express, on its night trip from Munich to Venice, is full because of the beginning of the carnival in Venice. Between the passengers are a young writer, an actress, and her daughter, an elderly dancer, five neo-nazi punks, and a strange man that seems to have some kind of influence over them through their dreams.

The young Count Ettingen leads a dissolute life in Munich with the demanding Baroness Prankha at his side. To finance his life, he has his uncle cut down the forests in his estate without caring about the consequences. When he catches his girlfriend having an affair, however, he retreats to the mountains. From the young alpine dairymaid Lore he learns about another side of life and wants to stop the overexploitation of the forest. But the baroness still wants his money.

Pepe Nietnagel's father has a valuable stamp collection stolen in Amsterdam. Street musician Pit recovers it. To show his gratitude, Pit is invited to Baden Baden and enters the Mommsen Gymnasium. There, he joins Pepe in his pranks.

Due to a plot by the teaching staff, headmaster Taft is forced into early retirement and Knörz is appointed headmaster. However, they didn't count on class 13a, and especially not on their spokesperson Pepe Nietnagel. They are anything but happy about losing Taft, their favorite enemy. Without further ado, Pepe and his friends join forces with Taft and hatch a series of daring pranks to get back at Knörz.

For Count Egge, there is only one meaningful way of life: living in the magnificent natural surroundings of his mountains. Only hunting matters to him; he even neglects his own children for its sake. Inevitably, this leads to conflicts that result in tragic alienation within the family. These conflicts continue even after the youngest son, Willy, is found dead and Count Tassilo, the eldest, breaks with his father, whose stubbornness he can no longer bear.

During the Thirty Years' War, ploughman Petr, recruiter Matěj and country girl Lenka are caught up in both sides of the war and experience many adventures before they find happiness.