Liebling, bring die Hühner ins Bett (2002)

The Teuffel family moves away from Berlin to the Brandenburg village of Krummenwalde. Manager Dr. Beate Teuffel wants to save a drinks factory there from closing; its previous owner was the mayor. Kai, Lisa, and Sophie are anything but happy about the move and their new way of life. At first, her husband Steffen also has reservations, but as a book author he stands to benefit from the peace and quiet. So they buy an old farmhouse at auction, and the neighbors are already eyeing them suspiciously as they move in. Gerd Jänicke, in particular—the mayor, pub owner, and leading voice in the village—is not pleased, since he would have liked to buy the farmhouse himself. Steffen tries to break the ice by picking up the tab at the pub. Beate has a harder time of it: at the drinks factory, nobody expects anything good from the new manager. But instead of immediately announcing layoffs, she declares that she will make up for the company's financial difficulties by increasing production. However, Bernhard Möller, the longtime plant manager, warns her that the spring will not be able to supply enough water for that. At home, Steffen is eagerly waiting for his wife to return because he needs the car for an appointment in Berlin. In the meantime, he starts building a chicken coop with Sophie. The youngest daughter, Sophie, loves animals and is thrilled; since arriving in the village, she has already acquired a cat, a dog, and two rabbits. Kai, too, begins to open up to country life after meeting Jessica. Head over heels in love, he wants to give up his school-leaving exams and start forestry training with Jessica's father. His sister Lisa, by contrast, shuts not only her bedroom door but herself off from their new circumstances. Her father does all he can, but it is only after she meets Sabine that she gives up her self-imposed isolation. To improve her standing in the village, Beate plans to hold a party. There is plenty of room at the farmhouse, after all, but the mayor sabotages her plan by hastily organizing a summer festival of his own. Beate is annoyed, and to make matters worse, things at the company are going badly too. As feared, the spring is overtaxed, and production comes to a standstill. Steffen manages to cheer her up a little and suggests simply looking for a new spring by conducting exploratory drilling. Beate is less pleased by Steffen's interest in their neighbor, even though the woman might help solve the problem, since she has a gift for finding water sources. But the search yields no results, and Beate is ready to give up. Then she learns that her superior had planned from the outset to close the drinks factory in Krummenwalde and had no interest at all in turning the company around. Beate will not simply accept that, and there is a good chance they can find a new spring. However, the drilling would have to be financed by the municipality alone. Despite the mayor's opposition, the whole village supports the plan and even wants to help buy the drinks factory. Now that everything is working out and the new spring has secured the village's future, Beate is made an honorary citizen of the village.