Märzengrund (2022)

Tyrol, late 1960s: Young Elias, the son of the wealthiest large-scale farmer in the Zillertal, is a good student who is soon expected to take over the family farm. The demands placed on him, along with the expectations and pressure, are high, and Elias tries to fulfil the role intended for him. He is caught swimming naked in a lake with his childhood sweetheart, the “girl with the chamois eyes.” His mother in particular firmly opposes his relationship with the older woman. As a result, the 18-year-old suffers from depression that confines him to bed for several weeks. Afterward, his father sends him to the Marchengrund alpine pasture to continue recovering, where Elias is to spend the summer looking after the place. But when his family arrives at the end of summer to take him home, Elias refuses to return to them and heads farther up into the mountains, well above the tree line. At last, he finds what he had always longed for down in the valley: unconditional personal freedom. Forty years later, a serious illness forces him to return to civilization.