Sein letztes Rennen (2013)

Paul Averhoff, a Berlin resident and running legend of the 1950s who won the marathon at the 1956 Olympic Games, has to move into a nursing home in his old age with his ailing wife, Margot, at the insistence of their daughter Birgit, since Margot needs professional care. Until then, the Averhoffs had still been managing their own house and property, and the uneventful, fully catered life at the home is an extreme adjustment for Paul. During the home director’s well-meaning, kindergarten-like occupational therapy sessions, he even fears, as he puts it, that he will “craft himself to death.” To escape the suddenly dreary routine, Paul begins training by running in the nursing home’s park. When other residents ask him why he is doing it, he spontaneously announces that he intends to take part in the Berlin Marathon. Despite some reservations, Margot becomes his trainer again, as she was in the old days. Some residents, and especially the home’s management, begin to resist, since Paul’s stubbornness disrupts the usual routines. But when one of the residents recalls his Olympic victory and even finds an old autograph card, the residents split into supporters and opponents of the project. In a race in the park that Paul spontaneously proposes during an argument with the young caregiver Tobias, Paul unexpectedly wins after initially falling behind, because he paces himself better. However, resistance from the home’s management grows so strong that the Averhoffs abruptly move into their protesting daughter’s city apartment. A few days before the marathon, Margot dies of a brain tumor. After another confrontation with Birgit, Paul is taken back to the home and suffers a severe grief-stricken episode. He is sedated and restrained. On the day of the marathon, however, caregiver Tobias and a resident who had long been his fiercest critic free Paul and drive him to the starting line. During the race, television crews notice him and report on “the most incredible comeback in sports history.” Birgit also learns of Paul’s participation in the marathon and, that afternoon, goes with her boyfriend and the nursing home residents to the Olympic Stadium, where Paul crosses the finish line, albeit far behind, and is cheered by the crowd. In an epilogue, “One year later,” Paul is seen at a family celebration at daughter Birgit’s, and later strolling through the house and garden with his grandchild. He passes a wall on which a photograph of Margot hangs.