Das letzte Stück Himmel (2007)

At the ages of five and four, brothers Anno and Julian Wilhelm have to come to terms with their mother’s death from cancer. From then on, they have to grow up alone with their tyrannical father in Wuppertal, who offers them no emotional support in this difficult situation. Anno copes with it fairly well, leaves school and, as a young adult, moves to Munich, where he works as a photographer. For Julian, however, their mother’s early death leaves lasting emotional scars: he suffers from severe depression and is at high risk of suicide. When he is once again about to jump from a bridge in Wuppertal, he calls Anno to say goodbye. Anno immediately sets off from Munich for Wuppertal and manages to stop Julian just in time. “I’ll take you with me and show you how beautiful life can be,” he says, persuading Julian to come to the big city. He lets his brother live with him, introduces him to Munich’s nightlife and includes him in his great passion, gliding. He also introduces him to his crush, Laura Melzer. Julian falls in love with Laura at once, but cannot express his feelings. Since Anno is also in love with Laura, a certain rivalry develops between the brothers. Laura, however, makes it clear to Anno that she has no feelings for Julian, and Anno is supposed to dissuade his brother from thinking that a relationship between them could happen. But Anno is unwilling to do so, because he realizes how important Laura’s friendship is to Julian, and that this friendship is keeping him alive. During an outing together in their gliders, Laura has a serious accident. She survives, but lies in a coma with a traumatic brain injury. Julian stays by her bedside every night and talks to her, after which her condition stabilizes. After Laura wakes from the coma, Julian happens to see Anno kiss her. His world then collapses; he drinks a bottle of vodka, goes on a rampage in the hallway of his landlord’s building, and threatens suicide. Julian is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, from which Anno soon gets him out. After his release, Julian wants to return to the family home in Wuppertal and calls his father to ask him to pick him up in Munich. All of Anno’s attempts to change his mind fail. It turns out that Julian still had not recovered. As soon as he arrives home, he finally jumps from the bridge. Five years later, Anno and Laura are still a couple, and at the end of the film they are seen setting off together on a cross-country glider flight. The following dedication appears on screen: “For Julian. † 2002.”