Das serbische Mädchen (1990)

The teenager Dobrila lives in the Serbian countryside. She wants to visit Achim, a young man she has fallen in love with, in Hamburg. But Dobrila doesn’t have enough money for the trip, and she also has no passport because she is not yet of age. For this reason, she crosses the border into Austria as a stowaway on a truck and travels the rest of the way to the German border on a passenger train. When she is discovered by German border guards, she manages to escape through a window when the train stops. She hitchhikes the rest of the way to Hamburg. Once there, she meets Achim again. Their initially warm reunion soon gives way to disillusionment, and he no longer shows much interest in Dobrila. In the meantime, she realizes that she is pregnant but hides it, not telling Achim. She sets off on her return journey, first traveling to acquaintances in Bavaria. Along the way, she falls into the clutches of a lustful truck driver, but manages to free herself. She then meets a friendly moped rider, who gives her a stuffed bird and some money. When Dobrila visits her acquaintances, they provide her with a German passport and advise her to behave like a German tourist. At the border inspection, Dobrila sings a Serbian song during a moment of inattention, prompting the Yugoslav border police to begin an investigation. With the help of a lawyer, Dobrila’s family manages to get her released from detention.