Die Drei von der Müllabfuhr - Die Streunerin (2021)

Garbage collector Werner Träsch, who has just moved into a shared apartment with the love of his life, Gabi Hertz, surprises her with a trip to Fuerteventura on the second anniversary of the day they met. Putting the plan into action proves difficult, however, because they have different ideas about what a vacation should be, and Gabi does not want to go to Fuerteventura at all. In time, though, they both come around and agree to try not to be so rigid about their opinions. Werner cancels the trip and lets Gabi decide where they should go. At work, Träsch has to deal with Hanno Felsenhain, an employee of a management consultancy. The waste disposal company’s organizational plans are to be reconsidered, so Felsenhain wants to get a firsthand look at the garbage collectors’ work. Since Träsch is considered the company’s best employee, he is assigned to look after Felsenhain, who will spend the next few days out on the route with him and his crew. Felsenhain’s fussy manner disrupts not only the work but also Träsch’s efforts to help others. Ever since he crossed paths with Luna, a homeless young woman, he has been unable to stop thinking about her plight. He manages to talk to Luna and finds her somewhere to stay. His colleagues Ralle and Tarik help him, and together they want to support Luna both emotionally and financially. She does not tell them, however, why she is living on the streets or why a group of young men is threatening her. After Luna is allowed to spend a night on Ralle and Tarik’s boat, she has to flee her pursuers again the next day. Ralle and Tarik try to find her and uncover her secret: she is pregnant and had given her boyfriend, Latif, an ultimatum: “Either her or your family.” But his family claims Luna’s baby, since it is part of their strictly “conservative migrant family” and, in their view, belongs to them. Since then, she has been on the run from Latif’s brothers. After a violent confrontation with the garbage collectors, the sides reach an understanding, and Luna is able to plan her future without being harassed. Felsenhain finds his days with the garbage collection service educational, and gains insight into the lives of the men who clear away other people’s rubbish—and even enjoy doing it. He has to question his arrogant way of thinking, which helps him cope better with his inferiority complex and loneliness. In the end, he takes Luna in and even helps the waste disposal company take action against the management consultancy, which he himself works for rather reluctantly. The submitted final report is full of errors, and after Felsenhain is able to prove that his junior boss is incompetent, his standing in the company improves, along with his self-confidence.