Barbara Horvath

Into an era seething with war and revolution, a man comes with an incredible power to heal a nation...or destroy it. Based on the true story of one of the most powerful and mysterious figures in Russian history.

Anne is caring for her mother and endlessly assembling ballpoint pens at home. Her monotonous everyday life is only interrupted by the constant ringing of the telephone. The wrong number again. Old conflicts break out again between mother and daughter, the distance between them seems irreconcilable. Until one day the phone rings again.

After suffering a severe head injury on the job, criminal investigator Tommy Wehrschitz is being suspended – for his own good. In order to deal with the changes in his life he decides to go to southern Burgenland, to sell property he inherited from his estranged father. Barely arrived, Tommy is invited to see the circus, which is currently in the village, but the colorful spectacle is cut short when a flying knife misses its target and kills an audience member instead.

School principal Hans is about to retire, but neither he nor his wife, Rita, are happy about their newly gained free time. For the past 35 years, their marriage has followed a well-established routine, with Rita setting the pace. As far as Rita is concerned, there is no reason to change anything. In fact, she does not like change at all. However, a stroke of fate reopens old wounds and forces them to ask themselves: Are they still a couple, or two separate individuals?

After discovering her abusive ex-stepfather is invited to her mother's 50th birthday party, Vanessa exposes his past atrocities with the help of a homemade videotape. Amidst the chaos of the family celebration, Vanessa and her estranged mother find an unexpected way to reconnect and ensure that justice is served for Vanessa's ex-stepfather.

In three forms, we see a young woman trying to accept the present. Each experiences a different facet of loss. The first is planning her mother's funeral, the second is dealing with her brother and the death of their shared father, and the third is trying to move on to a new life. While the protagonists have to decide which garment to wear at the cremation, how to address their brother after years of distance, or what technique to use to cut spare ribs, they move through their worlds with sometimes more, sometimes less humor. And again and again the question arises whether pain can be shared.