Meine Nachbarn mit dem dicken Hund (2019)

mini|300px|“Mrs. Hirschberger” in the film is a Bordeaux Mastiff. Susanne Brendel, an employee at a paleontological museum, is ashamed to admit to her colleagues that her husband, Peter, left her after more than thirty years of marriage. Since then, she has withdrawn more and more into the sheltered atmosphere of her apartment in an apartment building. But her private idyll comes to an end when new neighbors move in with a big, fat dog. Kim Hirschberger, a single mother and the dog’s owner, has to juggle her training as a chef with looking after her seven-year-old daughter, Saphir. To the other residents of the building, the “newcomers” are a nightmare. Susanne Brendel is glad whenever she can avoid them and the dreadful male Bordeaux Mastiff, who is also called “Mrs. Hirschberger.” Not only does the young woman talk loudly with her daughter in the stairwell, she also keeps them up for half the night, disturbing Susanne’s sleep. But Susanne is a very reserved person, so she puts up with it without complaint. A bright spot for the lonely woman is her son, with whom she regularly keeps in touch via Skype, since he is studying in Vancouver. He is always trying to encourage her to get her life back on track after the separation. But Susanne thinks she is doing just that: after all, she goes to work regularly, has nice colleagues there, and does synchronized swimming—a passion that even made her German champion in 1984. Swimming really does bring her a lot of joy, but unfortunately she has only one fellow swimmer who shares her passion—or so she thinks. The pool attendant then unexpectedly tells the women that, due to low usage, they will no longer be allowed to use the large pool. They need at least ten people. Susanne’s best friend Maria says they have to fight and recruit everyone they know. But that proves difficult, since there is hardly anyone in Susanne’s dull life, where she herself seems to have become a fossil like the museum specimens. Even though Susanne dislikes her neighbor with the big dog, she keeps catching herself looking into the neighbor’s apartment from her window. Since it is school vacation, Saphir is often alone while her mother is away at her training, and one day Susanne witnesses the child having an accident while playing. She immediately alerts the caretaker, and together they enter the unfamiliar apartment. They call the emergency services, and the girl is taken to the hospital as a precaution. Saphir’s mother thanks Susanne, but then a misunderstanding occurs and she abruptly tells her that she does not want any further interference in her life. Over time, Susanne becomes friends with Saphir and helps the child search for her dog when it breaks free of its leash and runs away, even though she has no particular fondness for dogs. She also stands up for Saphir when the girl is caught stealing in a pet-supply store. Saphir’s mother, however, is annoyed by the neighbor’s excessive involvement. When Nina Neumann from the youth welfare office turns up at her door unannounced, Kim suspects Susanne of being behind it and forbids her from having any further contact with her daughter. And it is not only that Susanne is wrongly suspected by her neighbor: the web of lies she has spun is now also in danger of unraveling in front of her colleagues, and she even gets into an argument with her best friend Maria. On top of that, she learns that her son dropped out of his studies some time ago. Gradually, Susanne realizes that things cannot go on this way. After her colleagues find out that Susanne’s husband left her months ago, she finally manages to reach out to her neighbor. It helps that, after the dog, Saphir has also suddenly disappeared. Kim and Susanne search for the girl in vain. Since Kim does not want to spend the night alone, she stays with Susanne in her apartment. A conversation between the two very different women defuses the situation and shows that both of them are struggling with problems. Susanne has lots of free time she does not use, while Kim does not know which way to turn. She constantly has to account for herself to the youth welfare office because Saphir’s father has recently decided he wants custody of his child, and she does not know how to manage both her training and her childcare responsibilities. When Saphir is still missing the next morning, Susanne suggests that Kim call the animal shelter again. As it turns out, a family has called to say they found “Mrs. Hirschberger.” Kim also learns that Saphir had asked at the shelter the day before and gets the address of the family the dog must be with now. Kim finds her daughter there; she had secretly spent the night in a shed and is relieved to see her mother. Since the family has a detached house with a large garden, Kim leaves it to her daughter to decide what should happen to “Mrs. Hirschberger.” Thinking of the animal’s welfare, Saphir decides to leave her dog with the family. With Kim’s consent, Susanne now looks after Saphir almost every day and even gives her some help with spelling. Kim, Saphir, Susanne’s three colleagues, the caretaker of the apartment building, and Mrs. Hirschberger’s new family all accept her invitation to her beloved water ballet—eight people in all. Finally, Maria arrives too. Susanne has more or less apologized to her by sending a message to her phone, and Maria pushes the pool attendant into the water to announce that there are ten of them now.