Satte Farben vor schwarz (2011)

The film centers on Anita and Fred. They have been a couple for 50 years and have been happily married for almost as long. They have two adult children, Patrick and Karolin, and their granddaughter Yvonne is about to graduate from high school. Anita and Fred can look back on a fulfilling life—but they are still living it. Fred has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Life seems to go on as usual. Although retired, Fred often goes to his old office, which the company has let him keep as its former boss. Anita does the housework and tends the garden on their large property. But one day, when Fred has supposedly gone to the office again, she catches him in an empty apartment he has just bought. He tells her he needs it so he can think. She feels betrayed. After all, she still wanted to take many trips with Fred. Every day, she cuts travel articles out of the newspaper. Anita’s disappointment comes between them. She even suspects he wants to lead a double life: “Is there another woman?” Unfortunately, their son Patrick has just arrived from abroad for the wedding celebration of Karolin, who has found a partner again. So they have to tell Patrick that Fred has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. They tell him not to tell his sister, but he does. Karolin then presses Fred to get treatment for the cancer. Fred refuses, saying he is not in pain yet, even though he injects himself with morphine every day. He does not want to spend the days he has left as a patient. After a fierce evening thunderstorm, Anita is alone at home, struggling in the pouring rain to save plants from the beautiful garden. But she cannot prevent the garden from being badly damaged. The next morning, she leaves the house and moves into a retirement residence. She leaves Fred the address. For a long time, he tries unsuccessfully to bring her back home. Anita experiences a dreary life at the retirement residence without Fred. When Fred reminds her that they are invited to Yvonne’s high school graduation ball, Anita returns. As she sits in her garden, Fred approaches her gently and says they do not have to separate after all. They enjoy a joyful graduation ball, where Yvonne brings them onto the dance floor, and they dance exuberantly with the young people until Fred is at the limit of his strength. Then, at Anita’s suggestion, they spend an intimate night full of happy memories at a hotel. The next morning, they dress up and take a taxi to the apartment Fred bought. On the sofa Fred had also bought, in the otherwise empty apartment, they die by suicide together using overdoses of morphine. Fred had apparently bought the apartment for his suicide. Now his wife accompanies him.