Geschwister (1975)

Ilona and Ekkehard Wille’s mother, Hella, works as a train attendant. They would like her to marry Herbert Lohner, with whom she is close friends. Herbert is a train driver and has a young son who does not live with him. Since the boy will soon be old enough to start school, they need to decide where he should enroll. Hella believes they should first see whether the children get along at all, because a family in which they do not would have no future. She therefore decides that her children will spend the summer holidays in Wesendorf on the Baltic Sea, where little Andreas lives with the elderly Hansens, so they can see whether the children get along. At first, Andreas is rather shy and reserved around his future siblings, but he gradually comes to trust them. Ekkehard’s attempts to teach the little boy to swim fail at first. Ilona and Ekkehard are also unused to putting their own interests aside and looking after Andreas. So the little boy is sitting all alone on the beach when Herbert Lohner unexpectedly drops by for a brief visit. Ekkehard would rather play ball with the older children, while Ilona meets up with Siegfried, a friend who is also vacationing on the Baltic Sea. When Ekkehard gets into a dangerous situation because his foot becomes caught in a net in the water, Andreas runs to Ilona for help. The girl manages to free her brother from danger. When two little kittens are about to be killed, Ekkehard stands up for them and finds them a new home, which greatly impresses his new little brother. In return, Ekkehard wants Andreas to make a second attempt at learning to swim. The bond between the three is repeatedly put to the test, and things do not always go smoothly. One evening, when Ilona and Ekkehard are feeling quite ill, Andreas runs to the doctor alone to get help. The doctor diagnoses them with sunstroke. His remark that someone brave enough to run alone through the woods to get help need not be afraid of water either prompts the little boy to try swimming all by himself. When Ekkehard finds his things on the beach, he thinks Andreas has drowned and collapses. Andreas, who had retreated into the dunes because the sea was breaking in heavy foam, finds him crying on the beach. Relieved and happy, Ekkehard and Ilona, who has just arrived, embrace their little brother. They have passed the test and grown into siblings. In Berlin, their beaming parents are already waiting for them.