Das Wasser des Lebens (2017)

King Ansgar is suffering from an incurable illness and believes the time has come to consider who will succeed him. There are two candidates: his sons, Falk, the more combative, selfish, and power-hungry of the two, and Lennard, who always treats those around him with kindness and respect. The king agonizes over the question and cannot make up his mind. The king’s personal physician devises ever more unusual methods to cure him, but none has the desired effect. One day, the huntsman suggests searching for the “Water of Life” and bringing it to the king. It is said to be a miracle remedy that can cure any illness imaginable and can be found in the Dark Forest. Falk, the braver of the two princes, sets out for the Dark Forest, where he gets lost. He meets the sorceress Salwa, who wants to test him. She asks Falk for a piece of bread, some water, or a few coins, but he arrogantly refuses. In the sorceress Salwa’s gathering fog, Falk falls into a ravine, where he lies unconscious. When Prince Falk does not return, Prince Lennard sets out to look for him. He, too, meets the sorceress Salwa, who belongs to the forces of good, from which the “Water of Life” also comes. He passes her test, sharing his bread and sausage with her. She then shows him the way to the castle and gives him advice and clues to help him pass the three trials awaiting him there. At last, he reaches the eerie castle, which lies under a curse. Its inhabitants have turned to stone. Inside, he finds the sleeping Princess Friederike, and hopes she can show him the way to the “Water of Life.” He kisses her, bringing her back to life. Princess Friederike tells the prince that he must now pass three trials and leave the castle before the twelfth stroke of the bell in order to free the castle and its inhabitants from the curse. The first trial is to solve an incorrect equation. With Friederike’s encouragement and Salwa’s words in mind, he passes the first trial. The second task takes Prince Lennard through a gate to a hidden chamber. An earthquake begins and the walls threaten to collapse, but with his powers of deduction and Salwa’s clues, Prince Lennard passes the second trial as well. In the third trial, Prince Lennard encounters the forces of evil. In an illusion, he sees his father recovered and his brother Falk, who tell him that he has already passed the third trial and is to be crowned king the next day. Friederike’s voice warns him that it is a trap. Prince Lennard recognizes it and drives back the creatures of the forces of evil. Once he has passed all three trials, water returns to the castle well, and Prince Lennard is able to bring the “Water of Life” to his father. He promises Friederike that he will return to marry her. With her help and love, he can accomplish anything. He leaves the castle just before the twelfth stroke of the bell. The curse is lifted, and the inhabitants awaken to new life. In the forest, he finds his unconscious and injured brother Falk, whom he brings back from the land of the dead with the “Water of Life.” But Falk secretly pours the “Water of Life” into his own water flask and puts brackish water from the ravine into Prince Lennard’s waterskin. When Prince Lennard gives his father the contaminated water, it nearly kills the king. Prince Falk now pretends that he was the one who brought back the true “Water of Life.” The king’s strength returns and his fever subsides. The king then names Falk as his successor. He does not believe Prince Lennard’s insistence that he was really the one who brought the healing water. However, Prince Lennard sees through the deception and threatens Falk with exposing the fraud to the king. Prince Falk eventually manages to convince their father that Prince Lennard had intended to kill the king. He warns the king of further alleged assassination plots by Prince Lennard. The huntsman, Baldur, is ordered to kill the prince in the forest while hunting pheasants. But the huntsman cannot bring himself to commit the murder, because Prince Lennard has always treated him well and kindly, and listened whenever he had something to say. He fires a shot as a pretense, so that everyone believes Prince Lennard is dead. In the forest, Prince Lennard meets the wise sorceress Salwa once more. She encourages him not to give up and to fight for his kingdom. Disguised, Prince Lennard rides back to court, where preparations are already underway for Prince Falk’s coronation. Princess Friederike, too, is now on her way to the king’s court, because she could no longer wait for Lennard to return. As the king is about to name Prince Falk his successor, Princess Friederike appears and says that the king’s son freed her kingdom from the curse and proposed to her. She explains to the king that it was not Prince Falk but Prince Lennard who was the true hero. The king sees through Falk’s deception and threatens to punish him by hanging. At that moment, Prince Lennard steps out of the crowd and reveals himself. The king asks Lennard for forgiveness, and Lennard grants it. The king then names Lennard king. As his first act, King Lennard pardons his brother Falk, who is now allowed to serve as a stable boy. As his second act, Lennard appoints the huntsman Baldur as his personal “equal and friend.” Then at last he can kiss his bride.