Das Leben ist ein Bauernhof (2012)

Bernhard Stolz is a successful spice merchant and is in a superficial relationship with his girlfriend, Caro. One day, his niece Kathi tells him that his sister Marlies has died. He immediately seeks out his brother Hannes, who lives as a monk in a Benedictine monastery. On the way to the funeral, tensions arise between the brothers, who have had little contact with each other over the past twelve years. Their 17-year-old niece Kathi, who is about to take her final school exams, is also reserved toward her two uncles, who had not cared for Marlies for years. Bernhard faces even more resistance from Kathi the next day, when he suggests selling the farm because it is unprofitable and she would have difficulty running it on her own. Local resident Alois Hirsegger expresses interest in buying the farm for his son Franz. Kathi, however, wants to turn it into an organic farm. Bernhard intends to return home straight after the funeral, but changes his plans when Kathi receives mail from the guardianship court and the tax office and a bailiff turns up. The bailiff tells the brothers that €17,000 in loan installments remains unpaid on a loan Marlies took out to pay for treatment for her leukemia. If the loan and the debts on the farm, totaling €300,000, are not paid within two weeks, the farm faces a forced auction. Despite her initial reluctance, Kathi gradually develops a fondness for Franz. Bernhard, meanwhile, meets again with his former sweetheart from his youth, Johanna, a veterinarian. Bernhard is also far from pleased when Caro suddenly turns up at the farm. Disappointed, Caro leaves again. To resolve the financial problems, Johanna offers to sell Hirsegger the hut on her alpine pasture, which should be worth around €200,000; Bernhard could raise about €100,000 from the bank. Bernhard and Hirsegger agree on a price of €180,000, and the Stolz family is required to repair the overgrown footpath to the hut. Behind their backs, the bank officer and Hirsegger make a deal intended to help Hirsegger take over the farm. When Hannes’s fellow monks help clear the path to the hut after all, Hirsegger withdraws his promise to buy it. Disappointed, Bernhard heads home. However, when the guardianship court informs him that Kathi has proposed him as her guardian, he arrives just in time for the auction and is awarded the farm, using a bank guarantee as security. Kathi throws a party at her farm to celebrate passing her final school exams, and introduces her two uncles and Franz as her boyfriend.