Alle unter eine Tanne (2014)

Elli, a couples therapist and author of the bestseller Nothing but the Truth, and her husband Robert have been living apart for three years. They have both since found new romantic happiness with their former affairs: Micha, a driving instructor 22 years younger than Elli, and Chrissi, a medical receptionist. Only their children, Susanna, Tobias, and Leonie, still believe that their parents are happily living under the same roof. When the family gathers at the parental home for Christmas, Elli and Robert once again plan to pretend that everything is idyllic beneath the tree. But Micha and Chrissi throw their plans into disarray: they want to spend Christmas Eve with their partners and move into the home they still share. While Robert is prepared to accept the situation and confess the separation to his children, Elli tries every possible way to hide the truth, introducing Micha and Chrissi to the children as a couple of friends who will be spending the holidays with them. But the children, too, are merely putting on a show of domestic bliss for their parents: daughter Susanna and her husband Heiner have just gone bankrupt with their car dealership and hope their parents will give them money to start over; Tobias, who is gay, pretends to be a trained musician, but in reality earns his living composing advertising jingles; and the youngest, Leonie, tells only her brother Tobias that she is pregnant, without knowing who the father is. Robert’s girlfriend Chrissi insists that they finally tear down the façade of lies, but gets nowhere. At the evening gift-giving, Robert indirectly proposes to her by pretending that Micha is the one handing her an engagement ring. But before long, the farce threatens to come crashing down. Tempers flare, and little by little all the secrets come to light. Furious, Susanna and Heiner are the first to leave the apartment, and shortly afterward Tobias and Leonie leave to go home as well. When Elli cannot bring herself to stand up for her love for Micha, the driving instructor leaves the house too, together with Robert. Elli and Chrissi are left behind and find a way to talk things out. To save Christmas, the two women now go after their men. Because of the icy roads, the men have ended up outside a Chinese takeaway, where they spot Tobias and Leonie sitting inside. They join them, and Robert manages to reassure his daughter about her pregnancy. Susanna and Heiner then arrive with the two children after seeing Elli arrive outside the takeaway. In front of the whole family, Elli reveals that she and Robert have been separated for a long time and confesses her sincere love for Micha. The film ends with a scene set one year later: once again, everyone has gathered at Elli’s house for Christmas, but this time they seem reconciled. Leonie, now a mother, and the rest of the family watch as Elli presents her new book on television, titled Young Man Wanted as a Travel Companion, which tells of a mature woman’s motorcycle trip through the Sahara with a younger man.