Generation Beziehungsunfähig (2021)

Tim works at a social media agency in Cologne and is the author of a book. A convinced single, he regularly meets women from the Tinder platform for no-strings-attached sex. At a party, Tim is flirting with his publisher when confetti starts raining down and his best friend, Luis, realizes that it is made up of scraps from Tim’s first book. Outraged, Tim confronts his publisher. She explains that his book is already three years old and that he is no longer in demand as an author. Hurt, Tim claims that he has long been working on a new book, which is not true. That night, Tim runs into a young woman at a gas station who calls herself Ghost. They argue over the last cup of a particular flavor of ice cream. Another young woman appears and warns Ghost against getting involved with Tim: he uses women like toothbrushes and then throws them away. Ghost wins the battle for the ice cream and simply drives off in Tim’s car-share vehicle. He shouts angrily after her. At dinner with friends, Ghost unexpectedly turns up. It turns out that she lives in the same building. Tim and Ghost begin meeting more often for quick sex. Ghost seems just as uninterested in a committed relationship as he is. One evening, Tim can’t make a date with Ghost because he has to look after his depressed friend Andreas. She suggests picking him up later and shows up in a stolen rickshaw. They have a fun, wild night together and, for the first time, share personal details about their lives while sitting on the scaffolding of a construction site. When Tim is injured in an accident, she takes him to the hospital, and they share a tender moment. Tim now spends more and more time writing a new book, working title “Man Meets Woman,” and also draws on his experiences with Ghost. The first time he turns up at her door with dinner, she lets him in only reluctantly. After they have sex, she sends him home because she would rather be alone. The next time Tim texts her, Ghost doesn’t reply. She doesn’t respond to any of his further attempts to contact her, either. Tim misses her and, for the first time in his life, is lovesick. His friends tell him to forget her, but he can’t. “You become a victim of your fucking, messed-up feelings,” he writes in his book. At a pre-wedding party he attends with his colleague Charlie, Tim runs into Ghost by chance. She is with someone, too. They both dance and make out provocatively with their respective companions, but keep a close eye on each other. After several weeks, Ghost finally gets in touch. When they meet, she asks if they want to have sex again. Tim politely declines. She asks why. He replies ironically, “Wouldn’t want either of us to fall in love now, would we?” Then he leaves her standing there. Some time later, Tim finishes his new book, and it is published. At his readings, he also talks about the courage it takes to love. Finally, he takes the risk himself and writes to Ghost that he doesn’t just want sex, but a romantic relationship. They meet at the gas station and once again tussle over their favorite flavor of ice cream. A young man comes in and this time warns Tim not to get involved with Ghost: she just uses men and then stops contacting them. Ghost and Tim run laughing out of the gas station. Outside, she throws her arms around him and kisses him.