Dach überm Kopf (1980)

Karoline Gluth works successfully as a cook at her sisters’ inn on Rügen. After her son leaves home to go to university, she wants a change of career and location. From “Uncle” Friedrich, she buys a garden with a small house on the outskirts of Berlin, relying on a photograph. In response to a job ad, she has accepted a position as an untrained kitchen assistant in a company canteen. She gets her share of the business paid out by her sisters and heads to Berlin. When she arrives at the property, the first thing she discovers is that there is a huge gap between the photograph and reality. The little house turns out to be a dilapidated garden shed. On arriving, she surprises a “subtenant” there with his girlfriend. She makes do with a makeshift setup, but soon realizes that rain comes through the roof everywhere and that the other facilities in the house are in poor condition too. The young “subtenant,” Christian, comes back to collect his things and offers to help her fix the building’s defects. Through his construction job, he is able to get some of his coworkers to help renovate the property. At her new job in a company kitchen, she is assigned only menial tasks. All the women in the kitchen are dissatisfied with the cook, who considers himself a great master of the culinary arts. At her little house, the construction workers come and go, replacing floors and moving walls, but they are unable to put in a chimney for the stove or build an outside toilet. Her savings are running out, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain building materials. Christian suggests persuading his construction boss to come and inspect the house and perhaps offer his help. A meeting between Karoline and Mr. Kotbuß, the construction boss, at the Neptune Fountain in front of St. Mary’s Church in Berlin goes rather coolly. Nevertheless, Mr. Kotbuß comes with his brigade coworkers to work on Karoline’s house over the weekend. The construction workers quickly realize that the house cannot really be renovated and should instead be demolished. This immediately leads to an argument between Karoline and Mr. Kotbuß. Despite all his misgivings, he decides to at least make some repairs to the house, since otherwise Karoline would have nowhere to live. A chimney, toilet, and cesspit are built. After the work is done, Karoline serves the workers soup she has cooked, which they praise to the skies. The workers then invite Karoline to a nearby inn, and the evening turns into a merry, drunken affair. When the tipsy Karoline is taken home by Mr. Kotbuß and Christian, they are all horrified to find that the chimney has collapsed. The next morning, Karoline decides to give up and go back to Rügen, but changes her mind and returns to her little house. At her workplace, the cook is taken ill. None of the other women will fill in for him, but Karoline agrees. They all cook together for the employees, who enjoy the food very much. An unexpected “high-ranking” visitor—the Minister—arrives at the company management and is delighted with the meal. Everyone is very pleased. Because of the collapsed chimney, Karoline and Mr. Kotbuß meet again. She learns that Mr. Kotbuß is a widower and has a young son. He also tells her that Christian and three friends beat up the cook at Karoline’s workplace. The police took Christian away, and he is now back in prison for violating the terms of his probation. The Kotbuß brigade does not want to stand surety for Christian again. But Mr. Kotbuß promises at least to repair the collapsed chimney. Over the weekend, Mr. Kotbuß arrives at Karoline’s house with his young son, starts rebuilding the chimney, and sends Karoline and his son off to the circus. She has a lovely afternoon there with the boy. When they return, Mr. Kotbuß tells her that the chimney is now standing firmly, but the roof of the little house has sagged and probably will not last much longer. They make tentative plans to meet again the following spring. At her workplace, the recovered cook complains about extra expenses in his kitchen caused by Karoline’s way of managing it in recent weeks. He demands that she explain herself. She defends her cooking, which has also been praised by the employees and all her coworkers. The cook then explains that the Minister has offered him a job in the Ministry’s kitchen, and that he intends to accept it. All the women in the kitchen then burst out laughing. Karoline sells her car. One evening, shortly before Christmas, Mr. Kotbuß is waiting outside her property. She has decided to use the money from selling the car to rebuild the house completely, just as Mr. Kotbuß has always recommended. Mr. Kotbuß tells Karoline that the brigade will take Christian back, and invites her to the brigade’s year-end celebration. Then Karoline’s son unexpectedly appears, and she greets him in the garden with an enthusiastic kiss. Mr. Kotbuß sees the mother and son kissing and jealously thinks he has a rival. He quickly drinks a bottle of grain liquor and refuses to believe that the young man is Karoline’s son. Jealous and drunk, he staggers home. Despite everything, Karoline and Mr. Kotbuß meet at the brigade celebration. She tells him that she has been appointed head of her company kitchen and is being sent for further training. Mr. Kotbuß dances with Karoline, and all the construction workers applaud the lovely couple. In a cheerful mood, the two admit that they want to live again, enjoying life—together. In the spring, they demolish the little house together. Christian arrives with a bouquet of flowers, a construction trailer to serve as temporary accommodation, and a promised tent. Mr. Kotbuß doffs his hat to Christian’s organizational skills. That evening, the two sleep in the construction trailer—in separate beds, to be sure—but their love for each other is becoming apparent. The next morning, the construction workers tear down the little house. Karoline watches in tears, then smiles and looks forward with Mr. Kotbuß to a fresh start.