Ein Sommer in Amalfi (2013)

Claudia Wesskampe had actually planned to spend her vacation in Sweden, her beloved holiday destination, but instead she has to go to southern Italy because Kai, her best author and a good friend, has broken his leg. He has also already spent the advance and travel expenses he received, without writing even a single line for the romantic travel guide that is to be presented at the upcoming book fair. For Claudia, who runs a small travel-book publishing house in Gelsenkirchen, that means she has to do the research for the guide herself if she is to save her little business. After a strenuous climb from the ship up the steep rocky coast to the bus stop, the bus pulls away right in front of her. Fortunately, she meets Padre Leo Muti, who is on his way to the hospital and gives her a ride there. Although Claudia intends to fire Kai, she cannot bring herself to do it and agrees to his suggestion that they create the guide together. His idea is that she should travel the routes he has already planned, tell him her impressions, and then he will write the text. When a taxi is snatched from right in front of Claudia, she gets back into Padre Leo Muti’s car, and he takes her to his sister Elisabetta, who gives them both a warm welcome. There Claudia also meets Luca, the nephew of the Padre and his sister Elisabetta. In the days that follow, Luca is always there when Claudia gets into trouble. The first time, he comes to her aid when she has to swerve to avoid another car in a rental vehicle, causing one of its tires to blow out. Later, as they eat together, he tells her that he is unhappily married and owns two hotels, one of them in Amalfi, which means he can arrange his time as he pleases. Meanwhile, Kai has been discharged from the hospital and is back in the apartment rented by the publishing house, where Claudia is now staying too. He tells her he is in love with the waiter who works at the restaurant across the street—and who was also responsible for his mishap, falling down the stairs. Claudia, in turn, surprises him by telling him that many years ago, when she was still a child, her mother left her and her father for an Italian man. That is probably where her trauma about Italy and her aversion to pizza and lemon ice cream come from. Later, she tells the Padre that she was nine when her mother simply left with an Italian guest worker. He offers to help Claudia find her mother so that she can make peace with her, because that is what she needs in order to be free and open to new things. When Claudia wants to rent a boat to take pictures from the water, that attempt also comes to nothing. But once again Luca is there, offering his boat and himself. When she offers to thank him by inviting him to dinner, he tells her that Aunt Elisabetta is expecting them both for dinner. Claudia prepares Wiener schnitzel for everyone together with Elisabetta. Luca later says that this is like being knighted, because Elisabetta certainly does not let just anyone into her kitchen. Soon afterward, Claudia and Luca sleep together. That evening Claudia witnesses an unpleasant scene. Luca’s daughter Caterina is dating the young musician Marcello, which her father does not like at all. He calls Marcello beneath her and says he is someone who wants to move into a ready-made nest. The next morning, Caterina tells Claudia that she thinks she might be pregnant. Claudia advises her to talk to Elisabetta. Then she goes to Luca and says goodbye. Shortly afterward, the Padre tells her that her mother died of cancer six years earlier. Antonio, who had been with her mother, is still alive, however. Together with the Padre, Claudia plans to grant Antonio’s wish by visiting him. He tells Claudia that her mother desperately tried to get in touch with her, but her father stopped every attempt before it could go anywhere. He gives her a bundle of letters that had been returned unopened from Germany. Claudia’s advice about Aunt Elisabetta proves exactly right. Elisabetta handles things in her own way, and she also finds words for Luca that make him consider whether the most important thing is not simply that his daughter be happy. Before that, however, an accident occurs: Caterina is injured when she crashes her car into a wall. She is distraught because Marcello told her he would leave her so that her father would not hate her too. Fortunately, she gets away with a concussion and a bruised rib. Nothing has happened to the baby she is expecting. When Claudia is about to fly home, the taxi driver hands her a small box containing a cross and a note that says “Love insurance.” Luca is standing across the street. He tells her that there is no such insurance for affairs, only for true love. He is to pass on Caterina’s message to Claudia: she would be happy if Claudia stayed for the summer. When Claudia asks Luca, “And you?”, he replies with a smile, “Would I be here otherwise?” Before they embrace and kiss, Claudia adds with a smile that she would now like to go and eat lemon ice cream.