Das Einhorn (1978)

Anselm Kristlein is 42 years old, a former advertising copywriter who became a literary sensation overnight with just one book. And yet he struggles with many uncertainties and questions about his life; he is a “unicorn,” a symbol of the deep-seated restlessness within him. One day, the Swiss publisher Melanie Sugg commissions him to write a flashy, lurid nonfiction book with the all-revealing title “Love.” She pays well—2,000 marks a month—and Anselm needs the money. When he first confronts the subject, he has to admit that he actually knows nothing about love. So Anselm, a rather average-looking, slim man with a receding hairline, tries to learn at least a little through practical experience, so he can also approach the subject in his writing. Kristlein’s journey through various beds takes him from his wife Birga to Barbara, Marie, Rosa, and Melanie, and then to Lake Constance, where he meets the very young Orli Laks. In her, he discovers the true meaning of love, which makes him forget all the erotic detours of the past decades and makes him young again. After these sensual adventures, Anselm decides, on his wife’s advice, that he would rather call the book “Instead of Love,” since that comes much closer to his own conclusion. After this illuminating amorous odyssey through the world of the eternally feminine, Anselm Kristlein returns to Birga’s arms, as enlightened as he is morally and romantically reformed, where dream and reality merge. He no longer has to write the book.