Nich' mit Leo (1995)

As Pastor Wilhelm Lüders is leaving the mission station in Africa to return to Germany, the Catholic priest in his hometown of Freudenstedt dies at the local brothel, the “Moby Dick.” The manager, Rosi, then calls Karl “Charly” Lüders and tells him about the dead man. Charly, the real power behind the scenes, heads straight to the “Moby Dick” and, together with Fred, the bartender, takes the priest’s body to the rectory. Before they leave the body there, Charly takes a large sum of cash from the dead man’s wallet—after all, he hadn’t paid for the services he had used at the “Moby Dick.” The next morning, Elisabeth, the housekeeper at the rectory, finds the priest’s body in a rocking chair. She immediately calls the bishop, who is at his palace getting ready for a golf tournament. The bishop takes the priest’s death cynically: “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.” Since he wants another priest in the town, he chooses Wilhelm Lüders, who has just returned from the mission. What no one here knows is that Wilhelm has a brother in Freudenstedt—“Charly” Lüders, who looks so much like him that they could be mistaken for one another. When Wilhelm arrives in Freudenstedt, he promises that he will bring a breath of fresh air to the rectory. First, he intends to get the brothel closed down, and he approaches the local police chief. A raid takes place that very evening, but it yields no significant results, since Rosi has received a tip from an acquaintance in the police force. To put a stop to any further trouble, Charly decides to kidnap the new priest. He and Fred break into the rectory, where Charly discovers that the priest is his brother Wilhelm. Just as they are about to take Wilhelm to the “Moby Dick,” Charly has to take the priest’s place and administer the sacrament of anointing of the sick. Naturally, it does not go as expected, and neither does the baptism the following morning. This case of mistaken identity gives Charly the idea of going to the bishop and, as Wilhelm, asking to be transferred back to the mission. But Wilhelm, who has managed to escape from the “Moby Dick,” also calls on the bishop, leaving the churchman somewhat bewildered. Suddenly, the matter is the closure of the brothel. It turns out that the building belongs to the diocese. While Charly and Wilhelm argue over the future of the “Moby Dick,” Legionnaire Leo receives a letter at a Foreign Legion camp. The letter reveals that Leo is Charly and Wilhelm’s brother and was stolen by a nurse. Leo then plans to escape from the Legion to look for his family. However, two Foreign Legionnaires are assigned to stop him from deserting. Meanwhile, another raid takes place in Freudenstedt, but Charly soon finds a way to fight back, having discovered leverage against the police chief. To his brother’s annoyance, he has once again taken over his job in his absence and put on an amusing mass. Wilhelm begins to doubt the purpose of his life, since his brother apparently does everything better—even preaching. Mother Lüders unexpectedly turns up at the rectory and discovers Charly’s double game. The bishop also heads to Freudenstedt, since Wilhelm is to be sent back to the mission and the establishment closed on the grounds that the diocese needs the property. But when Mother Lüders enters the “Moby Dick” with Charly, the connections become clear: Mother Lüders herself used to work there as a prostitute, and the bishop is the father of Charly, Wilhelm, and Leo. As everyone present tries to process this revelation, a major shootout breaks out: the two Foreign Legionnaires have followed Leo all the way to Freudenstedt and now intend to arrest him. Leo manages to incapacitate both of them, leaving nothing to stand in the way of the family reunion, and Mother Lüders can finally take her triplets in her arms for the first time.