Der Traum vom Elch (1986)

Thirty-year-old nurse Anna and her colleague and best friend Anette both have troubled relationships with men. Anette is the mother of a son from a previous relationship and is with the artist Ludwig, who drinks too much and is constantly short of money. Anna was married to Bernd, a doctor, but is now divorced and in a relationship with Markus. However, he only contacts her twice a year to spend a few days with her. She suffers because she has no way of getting in touch with him. At a party, Anna meets Stefan, a friend of Ludwig’s. Stefan is married to Barbara, but begins an affair with Anna. He loves Anna, who is torn between him and her longing for Markus, who is never there. Ludwig, too, loses more and more interest in Anette and begins courting Anna. She lets him draw her naked, but rejects his advances. At a party in Ludwig’s studio, Ludwig treats Anette worse and worse, and she drowns her sorrows in alcohol. Anna tries to persuade her to take a trip together to the Baltic Sea to take her mind off things. But when Anette refuses, Anna goes alone. Days later, at the Baltic Sea, Anna receives a telegram announcing Anette’s death. She has taken her own life, and Ludwig blames himself. Anna travels alone to Czechoslovakia, to a cabin in the mountains where she once went with Markus. But then she calls Stefan, who follows her there.