Das Gewinnerlos (2015)

Retired Georg has been mourning his late wife Betty for five years. He neglects repairs to the house, the housework, his personal hygiene, and meals. He simply can’t get Betty out of his mind. At least his friend Heinrich, who lives in a retirement home, visits him every day and brings food from the cafeteria. Georg’s daughter Judith, who checks on him from time to time, unlike his son Armin, is considering having him declared legally incompetent, placing him in a care home, and even selling his house. But Georg won’t let that happen. Georg and Heinrich win the lottery, but as members of a lottery pool they can’t claim the prize because the ticket has gone missing. They use the win to make Georg’s children believe he has come into unexpected wealth. From now on, Georg plays the part of a wealthy benefactor, whom, hopefully, no one will want to send off to a care home. Heinrich even arranges a cleaning crew for the house and a pretend partner for Georg—all of them sprightly residents of his retirement community—so Georg will seem lucid again and Judith will put her plans on hold. Sylva, Georg’s new flame in name only, plays her role well. She even gets her own room in Georg’s house. Still, Georg has a hard time getting used to his new housemate and accepting her quirks. He also fears that, with time, Sylva will take Betty’s place. So he reacts irritably to one of Sylva’s mistakes. This drives Sylva out of the house. She hurries back to the retirement home. Alone again, Georg realizes that he misses her. He even calls it love. He recites Shakespeare’s lines outside the window of the former theater actress to win her back. Sylva then moves into Georg’s house for good, so Judith knows her father is in good hands and no longer has to worry about his care. She plans to move to New York soon.