Ein Sommer in Kroatien (2012)

Ena is a young restaurant manager in Graz. Shortly before their wedding, her fiancé calls it off. Heartbroken, Ena finds letters among the belongings of her mother, who died of cancer. They are from her grandmother Karmela, who runs a fish restaurant in Rovinji. On an impulse, Ena travels to Croatia to spend her three-week vacation there. When she arrives, she meets Matej, a fisherman. Karmela, Uncle Luka—the godfather of Ena’s late father, Nikola—and the rest of the family welcome her warmly, while her aunt Tereza is distant toward her. Matej shows her around the area, and the two grow closer as a love affair begins. However, Matej fears that Ena will return to Graz after her vacation. When Karmela is sidelined by a broken leg, she puts Ena in charge of the restaurant. Tereza is jealous because she had hoped Karmela would hand the restaurant over to her, but she takes over the kitchen after Karmela, the cook, is incapacitated and Ena cannot cook. Tereza blames Ena’s mother for the accident that killed her brother Nikola, Ena’s father, because she supposedly made him drive to her at night in the rain. Ena takes care of the bookkeeping and discovers that the business is running at a loss. She tries to renegotiate contracts and prices and collect overdue bills, but meets resistance. Karmela discharges herself from the hospital and returns to the kitchen of her restaurant. After Karmela had failed to pay the installments for several months and ignored the reminder letters, the restaurant is now facing auction. She also confesses that she blames herself for her brother’s accidental death because they had argued shortly beforehand and he had fled from her. Ena’s mother had nothing to do with the accident. Ena plans to return to Graz, but Tereza manages to persuade her to stay in Rovinji permanently—and thus with Matej—because the bank would accept Ena as the manager. The planned auction of the restaurant is averted when the family and regular customers raise the money for the outstanding debts together. While Ena and Tereza take over the restaurant, Karmela sets off on a cruise with Stipe, to whom she means a great deal.