Der neue Freund (2023)
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Directors
Cast
Corinna Harfouch, Karin Hanczewski, Louis Nitsche
A cardiologist returns to her widowed mother’s home and grows suspicious of the younger man her mother plans to marry.
The story
While on a business trip, cardiologist Johanna stops at her widowed mother Henriette’s home in Konstanz. Henriette introduces her new partner, Philipp, who is significantly younger and around Johanna’s age. With marriage being discussed, Johanna worries that her wealthy mother may be involved with a con man. She cuts the visit short and returns to Munich, where she works as a senior physician. A few weeks later, she comes back with information she has had gathered about Philipp, including troubling omissions about his life. Her confrontation with him and her mother puts their relationships under strain.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While on a business trip, Johanna stops off at her mother Henriette’s home in Konstanz. Henriette, who has been widowed for two years, introduces her daughter to her new partner. Johanna is far from thrilled by Philipp, who is significantly younger and about her age. Since marriage is also being discussed for the near future, Johanna worries that her wealthy mother has fallen in with a con man. Irritated and angry, Johanna cuts the visit short under the pretext of an urgent work matter and returns to Munich, where she works as a senior physician in cardiology. A few weeks later, Johanna visits again, this time with information she had someone dig up about Philipp. He had kept many things from Henriette, including that he was married, had a child, had dropped out of university, and had a previous conviction for arson. When confronted, Philipp tries to make his reasons sound plausible. The conversation grows increasingly heated and emotional, including between mother and daughter. Johanna accuses Henriette of being responsible for her father’s death because she advised him against having a defibrillator implanted. Henriette replies that Johanna’s suspicion is unfounded. Eventually, Henriette goes to bed. Over a whisky, Johanna and Philipp get talking and discuss difficult aspects of their pasts. Tipsy, Philipp suggests murdering Henriette, so that Johanna would inherit everything and he could get a share. Johanna immediately informs her mother of the murder plot. Over another drink, the two women talk, and Henriette confesses to her daughter that her father had gambled away part of the family fortune and that his gambling addiction ultimately led to his downfall. When Henriette tells Philipp that she no longer wants to marry him, he gets angry, threatens to leave, and eventually sets the sofa on fire. The women manage to drag it out of the house together. The next morning, the women stand outside the house, and Johanna tells her mother that this is the first time she has nothing left to say to her. The women embrace.
Genres
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