Kinder und andere Baustellen (2020)

Marlene moves to Dachau with her husband, Thorsten. There, she joins a physiotherapy practice, while Thorsten is about to start a new job at the University of Munich. They both want to look after their daughter, Kiki, together. But because of urgent asbestos-removal work, Kiki can’t start kindergarten as planned. There are no other kindergarten places available, and all the childminders in the area are fully booked. At just this moment, Thorsten has to take care of something for his former employer in Hamburg. Marlene is forced to juggle her work and Kiki’s care on her own. When she happens to discover a shop space available to rent for an exceptionally low price, she gets the idea of setting up a kindergarten herself. Together with other parents, Marlene sets about carrying out the necessary repairs and renovations in the rather run-down building. She is joined by Karl, a widower; Renate, a meticulous teacher; Tülin, a student; and Rosi, who works at a hardware store. As a trained plumber, Rosi is the only one in this mismatched quintet who knows how to put Marlene’s plan into practice. She guides the others, since there is very little time left before the building inspection. During this time, the people involved get to know one another better, overcome their initial skepticism, and keep finding ways to pull together despite various difficulties. Marlene’s marriage begins to hit a rough patch when Thorsten has to stay in Hamburg longer than expected. When he then receives an enticing offer from Hamburg, the situation becomes even more strained. A scheduling conflict means the building inspection has to be brought forward, putting everyone under enormous time pressure and forcing them to skip work. Marlene then has to cancel her contract with the physiotherapy practice. When water damage occurs as well, all seems lost, since the building cannot be approved in that condition. It turns out that Rosi’s father is responsible for the damage, and it comes in very handy that he is a good friend of the building inspector. The inspector expects the defects to be fixed promptly and approves the building. Rosi makes peace with her father and joins his company as an equal partner. In the end, everyone realizes that their work has paid off, friendships have formed, and the project has also helped resolve personal problems. Thorsten decides against taking the job in Hamburg and will face the future together with his wife. When Marlene spots an ad for practice rooms in need of renovation, she immediately calls Rosi.