Treffen in Travers (1989)

In the autumn of 1793, Georg Forster, a revolutionary living in Paris, meets his wife Therese in the small Swiss town of Travers to discuss a divorce. The meeting is arranged by Rougemont, a Swiss state councillor, who chose the location because the Prussians have no authority there. In Prussia, Forster is wanted by the police for his revolutionary activities, and his wife, who is living in exile in Switzerland with State Councillor Rougemont, is not allowed to enter Prussia while she is married to Forster. Therese arrives with their two daughters and her new partner, the Saxon poet Ferdinand Huber, hoping that a divorce will allow her to return to her homeland. Physically and mentally weakened by the revolutionary struggles in France, Forster looks so unwell that his daughter Klärchen does not recognize him, and even Therese is deeply shocked by his appearance. Forster is suffering from a severe cough. Everyone spends the first evening at the remote hotel talking together. Therese wants to return to Germany. After the children and their nanny have gone to bed, they also discuss Therese’s relationship with Ferdinand, whom Georg himself once brought into his household. Although Georg officially accepts the relationship, he repeatedly makes his love for Therese clear. The next morning, Georg sits down to breakfast freshly shaved and combed, just as his wife joins him. She asks him not to wage war against Ferdinand. She is there only to get a divorce, because she needs to put things on a clear footing. Her husband, however, suggests that they could stay together, with Huber as a third member of their household—it could be a new way of living together. The evening once again ends in unrestrained drinking. The following day, contrary to his usual habits, Ferdinand gets up early too and frolics outdoors with Georg and the two children. Afterwards, the two men go for a walk in the Swiss mountains. There, Huber accuses Forster of having contrived to make Therese unfaithful so that he could justify the failure of their marriage, but Forster denies it. He insists that he does not want to give up Therese, but Huber denies that he has any right to her. In the afternoon, Therese and Georg go to the mayor to have their marriage dissolved. The mayor cannot grant their request outright and demands documentary grounds for an annulment, which they do not have. So they have to return without having accomplished anything. Therese is nearly overcome, while Georg cannot hide a flicker of happiness. Back at the hotel, when Huber asks Forster whether everything is all right, he replies that he thinks so. During a walk in the mountains, the two men argue again about their relationship with Therese, once more revealing their differing positions. The fog grows denser and they lose sight of each other, until Forster finds his rival on a rocky ledge, clinging on with only his fingertips. Despite their rivalry, he saves Huber’s life. Georg returns to Paris, and although Therese still loves him, she does not follow him, because she knows he will always sacrifice his private life for the work of the revolution. But she also knows that Huber needs her. Two months later, Georg Forster dies in Paris at the age of 39. Therese lives in Germany with Ferdinand Huber, whom she marries, for ten years, until his death. Another 25 years later, Therese Huber dies as a well-known writer.