Frühling - Lieb mich, wenn du kannst (2019)

Katja Baumann has a day off and wants to go on an outing with Filippa and Michelle Schmid. For their “girls’ day,” they had planned to go hang-gliding, but at the mountain pasture an eagle lovesick enough to disrupt their plans grounds all flights, so they have to change course. On the way back, they run into Freddie Löffler, one of Michelle’s students. She has been worried about him because he called in sick and wasn’t at school, but at this chance encounter he looks perfectly healthy. The teacher is also concerned about the otherwise very talented student because of his history with drugs. That is why she wants to speak to Freddie’s parents, who run a holiday farm with ponies. There is no shortage of work at the farm, so Freddie’s father is very busy even when Michelle tries to explain why she is worried about Freddie. He does not share her concerns, either, since he believes his son does not need to finish high school, as he is supposed to take over the farm one day. The very next day, Hubert Löffler and his son argue so fiercely about the subject that Hubert has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. As a result, Freddie cannot go to school again because he first has to take care of the jobs his father normally does. To keep the farm running and stop Freddie from missing any more school, Katja comes to help the Löffler family as a village aide. Katja, too, can see that Freddie is clearly struggling with the situation as it stands. He would like to finish high school, but his father keeps insisting that it is not necessary to run a farm. Because of his father’s health, Freddie is determined to leave school so he can better support his parents from then on. Freddie’s mother, Christa, also currently has four children staying at the farm for riding holidays, and they need to be looked after as well. Katja notices that one of the girls is struggling with the diet plan her mother has prescribed. So she encourages the child to listen to her body and, in this case, not follow her mother’s instructions. When the mother finds out, however, she immediately comes to take her daughter home. Strangely, Freddie remains determined to drop out of school even after Katja manages to persuade his father to stop putting obstacles in his son’s way. She also exposes his “trick” of always invoking his supposedly sick heart whenever he wants to get his way. Through her good connections with the medical staff, Katja learns that Hubert Löffler’s lab results are entirely normal. But Katja cannot quite celebrate her success, because she still cannot persuade Freddie to finish high school. Then Freddie tells her the real reason he no longer wants to go to school: he is unhappily in love, but does not want to have to see the girl he loves at school every day anymore. He thinks love is destructive and simply does not want to put himself through that situation any longer. Katja only understands when she happens to see Freddie at the cinema one evening with his girlfriend. It is his teacher, Michelle. Katja confronts Michelle and does not accept her argument that this was the only way she could get close to Freddie. Nor does the fact that the boy has stayed off drugs since then justify Michelle’s behavior. Katja makes it clear to Freddie that he cannot continue going to school in Frühling, and arranges for him to finish high school at another school. Shortly afterward, she learns that Freddie has gone away for the weekend. Since Michelle is also away, Katja sets off in search of the two of them, worried. Eventually she manages to find Michelle at a wellness hotel. Michelle is there with her mother, whom she has taken out of the care home for the weekend. Katja is both embarrassed and relieved. Filippa, the new veterinarian, tries to help the hang-gliding operator with his eagle problem. She thinks the bird is lonely, so she tries to find a suitable female through a bird-of-prey rescue center. Once she succeeds, the eagle finally gives up after days of holding out.