Lauras Wunschzettel (2005)

Laura Sebald is a goldsmith who lives in Berlin. She is heavily pregnant and about to marry her fiancé, Oliver. As she waits for him at the registry office and briefly talks to him on the phone, she hears that he has been in an accident and can no longer answer. Since then, she has lived a very secluded life with her daughter and worked day and night to support their small family. Five years later, while visiting Oliver’s grave, she is approached by a mysterious white-bearded man who tells her that wishes come true if you simply write them down. A short time later, she is at Café Dobel with her friend Birgit, where she meets the proprietor, Sebastian Dobel, owner of an Austrian coffeehouse chain and operator of the Dobel chocolate factory in Salzburg. They see each other only briefly, but neither can take their eyes off the other. Birgit tells Laura a few things about Sebastian. Laura pretends not to be interested, but she still can’t stop thinking about him. She also learns that Sebastian’s managing director, Margot Degenschildt, has her eye on him. Soon, Laura gets the chance to go to an arts and crafts fair because her friend is unable to go for work and therefore can’t use her ticket. Birgit also slips an invitation to the company’s 100th-anniversary celebration into Laura’s jacket pocket. On her way back through Salzburg’s old town, a gang of youths steals her valuable jewelry, and she immediately reports it to the police. Back at the hotel, young Peter appears and returns her jewelry. However, she doesn’t know who he is or who he belongs to, since he tells her nothing about himself. At the police station, she comes face to face with the gang and identifies all the boys who stole her jewelry, but doesn’t identify Peter. That evening, while out for a walk in Salzburg, she is somehow led to Villa Dobel and, thanks to her friend’s admission ticket, ends up at the anniversary celebration at Dobel’s headquarters. There she learns that young Peter is Sebastian’s son. Laura and Sebastian meet again, but the announcement of Sebastian and Margot’s engagement, arranged by his mother, hurts Laura so much that she abruptly tries to leave the celebration. Peter stops her, however, and shows her his room. Sebastian joins them, and they talk, though Margot notices. She plots against Laura by claiming that a valuable family ring has gone missing and accusing Laura of stealing it. As a result, Laura is not allowed to leave the country. But when her friend has to go to Salzburg, she promptly brings Anna, Laura’s daughter, along with the grandmother, which naturally makes Laura very happy. If it weren’t for the report about the ring, it could be a wonderful time for everyone. Since the report is written on Dobel company letterhead, Laura assumes Sebastian reported her, and she is so angry with him that she wants nothing more to do with him. But shortly afterward, everything is cleared up, and everyone can celebrate Christmas together. Margot is dismissed from the Dobel company after it comes to light that she had embezzled company funds.