Der Besuch der alten Dame (2008)

The once-thriving small town of Güllen has fallen into poverty after the unexpected closure of its largest factory. Its hopes rest on the impending visit of the fabulously wealthy Claire Zachanassian, who grew up in Güllen as Klara Wäscher. Hoping to put her in a generous mood, the townspeople send her former lover, car dealer Alfred Ill, to show her the beautiful countryside around Güllen and their old lovers’ hideaways. At the welcome banquet that evening, she brusquely cuts short all the diplomatic efforts to secure her generosity: she knows Güllen is in need, she says, and will give the town two billion euros, to be divided equally among all its residents, on one condition: Güllen—and Alfred Ill in particular—destroyed her life back then, and now she expects justice. She will write the check only if Alfred dies. Indignant, the townspeople reject this condition and stand by the car dealer. The press takes an interest and follows events, including the committed TV reporter Mia Mohr, Alfred Ill’s estranged daughter. Gradually, the events of the past come to light: when Claire was a young woman, she suffered a serious car accident that left her with a permanent mobility impairment. While she was still in her hospital bed, Alfred left her for the heiress to the car dealership, even though Claire was pregnant by him. For a long time, it remains unclear who was driving the car involved in the accident. To avoid having to acknowledge paternity, Alfred accused her in court, with support from his friends, of frequently changing sexual partners. After this character assassination, Claire left Güllen with the little money she had left and subsequently made a career for herself. Alfred’s child was stillborn, and Claire was unable to have children afterward. Following these revelations, resistance to the condition attached to the financial bailout begins to crumble; Alfred’s death becomes conceivable. Savings-bank manager Oliver Marx now approves large loans without requiring collateral. Alfred seeks help from police officer Lutz Wolff, but he can do nothing, since Claire has not explicitly called for murder—she has only demanded that Alfred die first. Oliver Marx even offers himself to Claire as a hired killer. She pretends to accept, but then leaves him standing there in indignation. She does not want murder, she says, but justice. Alfred is increasingly shunned, and even his wife begins to doubt her husband’s decency. And although the people of Güllen now place all the blame for Claire’s fate on Alfred, others were also guilty of perjury during the paternity trial. Alfred narrowly escapes several staged accidents in the following period, such as during a driven hunt and when he attempts to leave secretly from the railway station. Mia Mohr meets with Claire several times, feeling united with her in her dislike of Alfred. At the same time, Mia is repelled by Claire’s cold-blooded methods. When the mayor proposes that Claire buy up the old factory and restart production instead of making the billion-euro donation, so the village can be helped without a moral crisis, Claire tells him that she has owned the factory for some time. She bought it only so that closing it would create the emergency her revenge plan required. The mayor eventually calls a public vote to decide whether Alfred is guilty or innocent. Beforehand, Lutz Wolff offers Alfred the chance to shoot himself, so the people of Güllen will not have to become murderers. Alfred refuses: he will not make it so easy for them, and besides, some others are complicit too. He goes to Claire one last time and admits the whole truth: he was drunk at the wheel of the car involved in the accident. But she has known that for a long time. He asks whether she can forgive him; she says no. They kiss one last time. Afterward, he makes peace with his daughter. At the public vote, Alfred is declared guilty. While the meeting is still in progress, Claire unexpectedly appears with the check already written, while Alfred is surrounded by the angry crowd. When the throng parts at the sight of Claire, he is lying dead on the ground. Claire hands the check to the mayor, spits out the contemptuous word “Murderer!” at him, boards her helicopter, and leaves Güllen.