Frühling - Familie auf Probe (2019)

During a class trip to the church in Frühling, eight-year-old Liam Mehdamm learns that a clergyman has to keep secrets. The boy uses this to confide in Pastor Sonnleitner that his brother, who is four years older, hurts him very often. Liam seems deeply distressed, but since the pastor is bound by the seal of confession, he asks village support worker Katja to check in on Liam’s family. At first glance, everything there seems very orderly. Nevertheless, Katja tells the boys’ father that she saw Toni treating Liam very badly. Toni makes excuses, saying it was only a game, and Liam also does not reveal what really happened. Since Katja can do nothing more against the very domineering father, who also takes his older son’s side, she secretly leaves Liam her business card. When Rainer Mehdamm then takes out his frustration on his wife, Liam bravely dares to call Katja. He asks her to come because his mother has supposedly fallen off her bicycle and needs help. The parents are a little embarrassed to accept help, but since the father is a pilot and has to leave for two days, they agree to let Katja stay. Katja immediately sees that Anna Mehdamm’s injuries did not come from a bicycle accident, but from being beaten. The violence between the parents is thus spilling over onto the children, which is probably also why Toni is aggressive toward his little brother. To break the vicious cycle, Katja advises the desperate mother to separate from her husband. But the decision is not easy, especially since Toni idolizes his father and Liam fears that his brother will torment him even more now. Katja has no doubt that Anna Mehdamm loves her husband despite his outbursts, but explains that she must change the situation for the sake of her children. Anna Mehdamm first tries to talk to her sons, then drives with them and Katja to see a child psychologist. There, she realizes how much her children are suffering from their father’s violence at home. This helps her decide to leave the family home with the children. Katja quickly finds a temporary solution to their housing problem, too: an elderly shepherd who is currently in hospital could use help on his farm. He has been all alone there since his wife died, and Katja has been looking after the flock of sheep for some time; now the family could take that on as well. There is plenty of room on the farm, and after some initial skepticism, the children even come to enjoy the simple, nature-filled life. They are glad to finally be able to live without fear and to see their mother laugh again. But when Rainer Mehdamm returns home and finds the house empty, he is first confused, then extremely angry. He threatens his wife over the phone and announces that he will take the children away from her. Katja tries to calm her, with only partial success. Meanwhile, Rainer Mehdamm is already on his way to the school, where he intercepts Toni and forces him to come with him. But, contrary to expectations, Toni refuses to stay with his father and tells him that he never wants to become like him. This finally gets through to his father, who realizes that he, too, has to change if he does not want to lose his children altogether. So he takes the boy to his new home and then drives away without a word. At the end, Toni thanks Katja for being there for the family.