Hallesche Kometen (2005)

Ben is in his early twenties and lives with his father in Halle an der Saale. His mother died in a car accident two years earlier. While his father has given up on life, Ben tries to earn just enough money delivering travel brochures to keep them both financially afloat. He dreams of traveling the world, and his job at least brings him into contact with travel agencies. On one delivery run, he parks in the second row. A little while later, when the driver of the car he has blocked in tries to pull out of her parking space, Ben’s old VW Polo won’t start. This gives him a chance to talk to her, at least briefly. At home, Ben learns that his father has once again missed a job interview. As a result, the employment office suspends his unemployment benefits for twelve weeks. Ben’s father reacts very negatively to the suggestion that they sell some of his mother’s old furniture. So Ben sets out to find another side job, and his buddy Ingo offers to help him sell cigarettes. Gordon, Ingo’s supplier, has “certain connections,” and Ben doesn’t want to know any more about them. A few days later, while out at a nightclub in Leipzig, Ben runs into the driver he had spoken to earlier and learns her name: Jana. The two chat outside the club for a while and exchange phone numbers. For the first time in a long while, Ben feels that things are starting to look up. He brings home a bottle of sparkling wine after shopping and shares it with his father as they look through old vacation slides and talk about Ben’s mother. Still determined to help his father get back on his feet, Ben then suggests that he find him a job. Puh, a friend of Ingo and Ben, takes on the role of job-application adviser. After several attempts, Ben finally manages to arrange a job interview for his father, but his father doesn’t get the position because of what he says during the interview. Ben looks forward to at least being able to talk to Jana, but she is already looking forward to leaving: she plans to spend a year in Vancouver, Canada, as an au pair. She has a surprise for Ben: she gives him a plane ticket so he can visit her in Canada and finally see a bit of the world again. But Ben, who feels responsible for his father, is anything but enthusiastic about the idea. Ben and Ingo decide to take up a somewhat vague offer that Gordon has arranged for them, involving a man named Mola. But Ingo suddenly backs out, and Mola loses interest in Ben, too. The friends argue, and it eventually turns into a fight after Ingo accuses Ben of becoming just like his father. When Ben finally comes home with a black eye and his father demands to know what happened, Ben loses his temper. Furious, he gets into the car and drives off, disregarding speed limits and everything else. Meanwhile, Ben’s father, just as deeply affected by their argument, hurriedly clears the balcony door, which had been blocked by old furniture, and steps onto the balcony for the first time in years. In his car, Ben lets go of the steering wheel and risks losing control of the vehicle for a few seconds. But suddenly he comes to his senses, stops in the middle of the road, and throws up. When he returns home the next morning, his father is waiting for him, and they talk things through. A short time later, Ingo comes by, and Ben is able to talk to him normally again, too.