Tonio & Julia - Zwei sind noch kein Paar (2018)

Laura Mosny once again cancels the baptism appointment for her daughter Frieda in the anteroom of Pastor Tonio Niederegger’s office. Family therapist Julia Schindel notices how distressed the young woman is and asks to speak with her. She learns that the relationship between the young parents has been very strained since the child was born, and that Laura’s partner, Philipp Engelbrecht, does not keep his promises. Laura says she feels left alone with everything and overwhelmed, even though all she wants is to have a family with Philipp. Julia tries to explain that it is not only young mothers who are often overwhelmed; fathers need time, too, to adjust to new situations. Neither of them suspects that Philipp is leading a double life, which is why he is so erratic in his decisions. Julia has just moved into the vacation apartment in her parents’ house and cut all ties with her old life in Berlin and her boyfriend, Paul Grünwald, when he suddenly turns up at her door. He assures her that he has now definitively separated from his wife, Annika. As Julia turns back to Paul, delighted and surprised, Tonio views their relationship skeptically. By pure chance, he learns that Paul is still married, so he confronts Julia: after all, she is still on probation and, as an employee of the Catholic Church, is bound by the Ten Commandments. Julia is initially annoyed, but she has the feeling that Tonio is taking it very personally—after all, she and Tonio were a couple when they were young, and perhaps his love never completely faded. But Tonio is not the only one causing Julia problems. Paul tells her that he is worried about his wife, who had cried on the phone and sounded completely distraught, so he has to go and check on her. Julia is disappointed and asks him whether he has ever worried about her. He should just leave and do what he thinks is right. She has no time for a major heartbreak, however, because after a storm Laura Mosny is reported missing. The previous day, she had gone on a boat trip with her young daughter. To find out exactly where Laura was headed, Tonio contacts Philipp Engelbrecht. While looking for his phone number, he finds his company’s website online and discovers that Engelbrecht is already married. At the same time, Julia is searching for Laura and her daughter with the water rescue service. Fortunately, she manages to bring them both back to shore relatively unharmed. Just as Tonio is wondering how to gently tell Laura the truth about her boyfriend Philipp, Philipp contacts the pastor and asks to talk. He tries to explain to Tonio the predicament he is in and how it came about. Tonio advises him to come clean immediately and face his problems. Philipp does so, whereupon Laura ends their relationship. She has Frieda baptized, and thanks to Julia’s initiative, even Philipp attends the baptism service with his two sons. Later that day, Tonio and Julia meet in a meadow and embrace and kiss. But once again, Tonio runs away from his feelings. When the question of Julia’s permanent appointment comes up, Tonio raises his hand as Vicar Zumbrodt asks whether anyone has anything against Julia staying.