Bist du glücklich? (2018)

Sonja and Marc, both around 40, are married to each other in their second marriages. They recently separated, prompted by Marc’s affair with Susanne, a colleague at work who is 15 years younger. For one more day, Sonja and Marc are out together to sell the weekend house on the outskirts of Frankfurt, which they once chose and bought together. In flashbacks, some of them directly contrasted with scenes in the present, we see them in intimate, passionate moments from their 13-year relationship, as well as arguing—over seemingly trivial things, like a salt shaker, but also over fundamental matters such as love, fidelity, and having children together. Neither has children so far; Sonja dares to suggest that this might be a “sign,” while Marc does not dare confess to her what he tells Susanne bluntly when she tells him she is pregnant: years ago, he had himself sterilized, irreversibly. At their destination, they are met by their neighbors there—the previous owners of their house, who look after the property in their absence—a couple who have aged with dignity and feel affection and friendship toward them. Convinced that Sonja and Marc should stay together, they have used a double lie to ensure that the prospective buyers expected that evening will not arrive until the following morning. So the couple intent on separating spend one more night together. They see through the “game,” but do not avoid it either. They talk about their hurts, as well as what still connects them, culminating in each confessing what they valued most in the other. When the doorbell rings in the morning, they are sitting on the couch with a warm blanket over their knees, hesitating to open the door. Two questions asked shortly before hang in the air: “Are you happy?”—“And you?”