Liebesjahre (2011)

Vera is lost in memories as she enters the old house on the North Sea where she and her ex-husband Uli raised their daughters together. The house has been empty for years, and it is due to be sold the following day. When she goes into the former bedroom, she is stunned to find Uli there of all people, making himself comfortable with his new love, a young woman, in their former marital bed. Vera finds this inappropriate and tactless. While Uli seems to be enjoying the situation, Vera starts working through lists, checking the contents of the former household so she can finalize the sale of the house as quickly as possible and put it behind her. When Uli asks why she wants to sell the house—and especially why so suddenly—Vera evades the question. Uli therefore suspects she has something to hide. When Vera’s new partner, Darius, enters the house, the confusion is complete and the film’s plot gathers pace: as the men try to outdo each other in speed while moving the furniture, the women get into an argument. In the course of the tense situation, Vera learns that Uli’s new love apparently has no idea that he had himself sterilized years ago. Matters come to a head when Uli finds a photo in the house showing the happy times he once shared with Vera. The two then begin throwing each other’s past mistakes and failures in each other’s faces. These were all things they had never told each other before, so neither of them had a chance to correct their mistakes in time. After everyone involved has had a drink that evening, things calm down, and Vera ends up in the old marital bed with Uli. In this first moment of reconciliation in the entire story, Uli learns why Vera wants to sell the house: she is incurably ill.