Besuch für Emma (2015)

Emma Beeskow works as a cashier at a discount supermarket. The loneliness she feels at work weighs on her so heavily that she even steals customers’ wallets, then lures them to her apartment by pretending she found them, where she even cooks for them. So far, no one has caught on to her scheme. But now a customer realizes while still in the store that his wallet is missing. Since the homeless August Zinnerberg was standing right beside him at the checkout, the customer accuses him of stealing it. The police are called, and Zinnerberg is taken to the station. Emma is clearly upset that the man is now in trouble because of her, but she can’t help him in the moment without getting herself into serious trouble. The next day, Zinnerberg is back at Emma’s checkout and hints that she owes him something. He saw her take the wallet, after all. Their conversation ends with Emma taking him home, letting him shower, and washing his clothes. As she looks at his ID, she realizes that the man is actually an aristocrat and is named August von Zinnerberg. Although Emma is, in a way, looking to make contact with other people, having him move in unexpectedly makes her a little uneasy. Zinnerberg has his own ideas and behaves nothing like she expected. So she is glad when he is gone again the next day. But her relief is short-lived: the very next day, he is back at her door to return the things she lent him. She now shares dinner with Zinnerberg, who remarks that getting himself arrested for her had actually been worth it. Emma is no longer quite so guarded toward him, either, and realizes that they share a love of music, especially Elvis Presley. The evening turns out differently from what Emma had planned, but it is nonetheless very entertaining. Zinnerberg tells her about his life because Emma wants to know how he ended up “on the streets.” August, as she is now allowed to call him, explains that he simply didn’t know how to handle the money he had access to from a very young age. Although Emma is convinced that August is just like anyone else, she doesn’t dare acknowledge him in front of her coworkers. Because of the police incident, he is banned from the discount store, and when he briefly tries to talk to Emma, he is very roughly shown the door. She feels bad about it, but waits until after work to contact August and apologize. He grumbles as he accepts her apology, then gets ready for the night on “his” park bench. After Emma hasn’t heard from August for days, and the onset of winter is approaching, she gradually begins to worry. She tries to find him, but he is nowhere to be found—not on the streets, in the pubs where he usually plays music, or in the warming shelters. When she finally tracks August down, he looks very unwell. He has made himself a dry place to stay in an attic and is coughing badly. Emma doesn’t want to be responsible for leaving him camped out there any longer. August reluctantly goes with her and lets her look after him. She even calls in sick to her employer herself so she can be there for August, who has a high fever. But as soon as he feels a little better, he is already annoying her again with his remarks. Still, he manages to help Emma learn to take life a little more lightly. So she simply takes her six weeks of vacation and decides that, once August is fully recovered, the two of them will go on a trip together. But August isn’t cut out for staying in one place long-term. He is a musician and needs his freedom. He has lived on the streets for 15 years and is allergic to handouts. He is grateful to her for everything she has done for him, but a “makeshift alliance” like this would make neither of them happy. He packs his things and leaves. Emma is angry and first lets off steam by playing loud music and cleaning the apartment. Then, instead of sitting alone at home as she usually does, she goes out and enjoys the hectic life of the big city. At first, she decides not to take her vacation trip after all, but then changes her mind and even books a flight to America—all by herself. When she tells August about her plans, he is very surprised, but then takes her to the train station.