Neuner (1990)

The life of Theo Neuner, who had previously enjoyed success, seems to obey Murphy’s Law in every respect during the period of reunification: Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Theo, a West German owner of a thriving construction company who had until now been less than scrupulous, had hoped that after the fall of the Wall and the impending reunification of Germany his business would take off and he would be inundated with contracts. Instead, the exact opposite happens: Contrary to the general trend of a widespread construction boom, the offers fail to materialize, and a highly coveted plot of land in the East proves much harder to acquire outright than he had expected, so Neuner’s company is soon on the verge of bankruptcy. Then Irma, Neuner’s lover, dies. When Theo visits her sister Annie in Berlin, that conversation also ends differently than he had hoped: She demands money for Irma’s funeral, which he doesn’t have. To top it all off, Theo’s wife Nora eventually leaves him too, after finding a note with Annie’s phone number in Theo’s jacket pocket and believing that her husband is having an affair with Annie. At that very moment, his best friend Felix Moll seems to take advantage of the opportunity and make a play for Nora. Neuner now begins to lose his grip on everything, both professionally and privately.