Stilles Tal (2010)

Thomas Stille runs the “Stilles Tal” inn with his wife, Barbara, on an estate in the Müglitz Valley. He leased it as a ruin in 1973, restored it, and bought it from the municipality after reunification. In August 2002, after an extensive renovation of the kitchen, he is planning to reopen the inn; their daughter Dixie is expecting her first child soon. Then Konrad Huberty arrives from Hesse to take possession of the house as his property. It belonged to his father before he moved to West Germany with his family. Under the Unification Treaty, “restitution before compensation” applies, and after years of legal wrangling Huberty has won in the final court of appeal. Stille knows nothing about this, however, because his negligent lawyer stopped dealing with the case, and he still considers himself the rightful owner. Stille barricades himself inside the house, which he refuses to hand over under any circumstances. His wife Barbara initially tries to mediate and is friendly toward the Hubertys, but then firmly takes her husband’s side. Meanwhile, relentless heavy rain is falling, gradually building into the 2002 Elbe floods. The police cannot enforce the eviction order obtained by Huberty’s lawyer, because responding to the flood takes priority. Before long, the estate is cut off, with no electricity or telephone. The Hubertys have to flee their motorhome and take shelter in the house. Also inside is DJ Olli Reschke, who had only come to retrieve a suitcase he had forgotten, and he helps out energetically. He believes he is the father of Dixie’s child, but she gives him the cold shoulder. As Dixie goes into labor and a home birth is prepared, part of the house collapses because the ground beneath it has been washed away. The families’ disputes fade into the background in the face of the need to survive. Later, the remaining exterior walls and the roof also collapse, leaving only a small corner of one wall standing. The three women and Olli manage to leave the remains of the building on a boat drifting past, while Thomas Stille and Konrad Huberty are left behind. Since Huberty has taken out a new building insurance policy for the day of the handover that no longer covers flood damage, he suggests that Stille officially waive the handover so that Stille’s old policy remains in effect and can still cover the damage. They would rebuild the house together through a newly founded company, financed by the insurance payout as well as the capital Huberty had intended to invest in the estate anyway. Stille agrees, and the two men become friends. Meanwhile, the women have reached safety, and a rescue helicopter is on its way to the two men. Stille lets Huberty go first. Before Stille can also be rescued, the ruin is destroyed by a steel silo drifting in the water, and Stille is killed. Dixie gives birth to her child in the emergency shelter and gets engaged to Olli. Three years later, the “Stilles Tal” hotel restaurant has been rebuilt and is doing good business. Dixie and Huberty play in the garden with Dixie’s daughter, Marie.