Stille Nacht, raue Nacht (2024)

Hamburg, three days before Christmas Eve. Scientist Liane and her boyfriend Philipp are invited to the winter solstice celebration hosted by her older half-sister, Svea. Although the sisters get along well, Liane, who deals with figures and facts every day as a climate researcher, has little interest in Svea’s enthusiasm for esotericism and the approaching Rauhnächte. After the meal, Svea asks her guests to write thirteen wishes on small slips of paper, which are traditionally burned during the Rauhnächte. Liane watches Philipp write his wish for a child on one of the slips. That evening, she brings it up with him. Philipp, who cannot imagine a life without children, once again asks her to finally make a decision, but Liane, who does not want any change, rejects him. He then suggests taking a break and decides to fly to La Gomera for the holidays. Two days later, Liane encounters Mani on the bus; she had already met him at Svea’s celebration. Her encounter with the free-spirited spiritualist encourages her to write thirteen wishes for the Rauhnächte, too. At noon on December 24, they meet again when Mani goes into the Elbe for a swim. Liane offers to let him warm up at her home, where they each burn their first wish slip over a cup of tea. Their peaceful moment is abruptly interrupted when Philipp’s conspiracy-minded parents, Marianne and Wolfgang, unexpectedly show up at the door for a Christmas visit. Liane is initially stunned, but eventually resigns herself to the prospect of spending Christmas Eve with Mani and her future in-laws. However, an approaching storm forces the four of them to take shelter in the basement during dinner, where they encounter Liane’s neighbor Hinnerk and his family. After a burst water pipe, they all flee in Hinnerk’s SUV until the storm passes. During a phone call the next morning, Svea tells Liane that Mani was diagnosed with a tumor recurrence a few days earlier. Liane tries to persuade him to undergo chemotherapy, but he refuses. When she returns from a conciliatory conversation with Marianne, Mani has disappeared. She sets out to look for him. In the driveway, she encounters Philipp, who has returned from the Canary Islands at short notice and asks her to forgive him. After Mani gives her a new perspective on a future together with Philipp, Liane, to Philipp’s delight, pretends during the New Year’s Eve celebration with Svea and her family that she can make out a pacifier in the molten lead. A few days later, as Liane sits on the banks of the Elbe, she encounters Mani again. Without a word, they each unfold their final wish slip (Liane: “I trust,” Mani: “I am healthy”), before Mani moves on and Liane takes off her clothes and steps into the water.