Almuth und Rita (2014)

After selling her dental practice, recently retired dentist Almuth Seegers faces a new chapter in her life. After 19 years of divorced life, the single, emotionally reserved woman finds it hard to adjust to retirement and the loss of her former professional purpose. Trying to find a balance through new activities such as golf does not overcome her loneliness and inner dissatisfaction. Her relationships with her daughter Kathrin, her grandchildren, and her mother Elisabeth, who lives in a retirement home, are also marked by emotional distance. Almuth finds it difficult to recognize just how much she has taken on her mother’s character traits in particular. The one constant in Almuth’s life becomes her cleaning woman, Rita Ritter, whom she hired a few years earlier but has rarely seen. A woman who loves animals, Rita is a clear contrast to Almuth: cheerful, direct, and uninhibited, she embodies qualities Almuth herself lacks. Rita quickly recognizes Almuth’s discontent and gently tries to draw her out of her emotional isolation. At first, Almuth feels Rita is overstepping, but as time goes on, she increasingly allows her into her life, and the two women gradually grow closer. After a falling-out that leads Rita to hand in her resignation, Almuth finally overcomes her inner barrier and apologizes to her. When Almuth plans a short stay in the mountains, she invites Rita along at short notice. Once they arrive at her cabin, Almuth secretly reads Rita’s diary and is hurt by Rita’s frank but realistic view of her personality. After another heated exchange, Almuth crashes her convertible and tears her cruciate ligament. A short time later, Rita gets her out of the hospital early. The two reconcile once more and return together to their cabin, where they are visited by Rita’s ex-husband Viktor and Klaus, a mutual childhood friend, whom Almuth eventually kisses. Back in her everyday life, Almuth finally resolves to make peace with both her mother and her daughter.