Viele Kühe und ein schwarzes Schaf (2020)

The married couple Beate and Henning Müller run a joint veterinary practice. Their son, Martin Müller, has also studied veterinary medicine and, after a failed attempt to work as a veterinarian, turned to research by beginning a postdoctoral qualification. His absent-mindedness leads him to miss the deadline for extending his studies, costing him his job at the university as well. In a conversation with his girlfriend, Tessa Vogt, he brushes off the situation as if he doesn’t care, so Tessa decides things can’t go on like this and asks Martin for a break and some time apart. Once again, Martin doesn’t know what to do and gets in his own way. When his mother calls, he doesn’t admit what has happened, even though she already knows everything from Tessa. Beate therefore decides to use a white lie to get Martin to return to his parents’ home. She asks her husband, who has suffered a minor bruise to his arm, to pretend it is broken so they can claim they urgently need Martin’s help. Her plan works: Martin returns home with mixed feelings and accompanies his father on visits to local farms. When asked to determine whether a cow is pregnant, he is unsure, which unsettles the farmer. With another cow, he makes a diagnosis that his father considers impossible. Henning Müller nevertheless tries to support his son, though Martin’s behavior makes this increasingly difficult. Father and son have an argument, after which Martin once again tries to run away. His mother persuades him to wait at least until the weekend is over. When Melanie Harmsen drops by the Müllers’ home, that too is an idea of Martin’s domineering mother, who thinks Melanie, a veterinary student, would be a good match for her son—better, at any rate, than Tessa. While father and son are out together, because it seems Martin’s diagnosis may not have been so wrong after all, Martin admits the truth about losing his job and breaking up with Tessa. But his wife vetoes Henning’s idea of telling Martin the truth about his arm, which is not broken either. When Tessa comes by while Martin is away and finds only his mother there, Beate claims that her son no longer wants to talk to Tessa and has told her it would probably be better if he forgot Tessa altogether. Confused and disappointed, Tessa leaves, but first hands Beate an envelope intended for Martin. Beate neither tells her son that Tessa visited nor gives him the envelope. Martin has meanwhile discovered by chance that his father’s arm is not broken at all and that he is perfectly able and willing to work, and he once again wants to leave his parents’ home. For reasons Martin cannot understand, his father wants to keep up the pretence. When Martin runs into his former teacher, Jürgen Ackermann, the teacher unexpectedly encourages him, telling him to believe in himself: he is gifted and has a researcher’s instinct, which is a talent. Shortly afterward, a phone call with Tessa reveals to Martin that she came by the previous day. With barely contained anger in his voice, he demands the envelope from his mother and turns to leave. Before going, he says that maybe he isn’t the person his parents want him to be; that’s okay, but it’s his life, and from now on they must stop interfering. When he opens the envelope a little later, he finds a positive pregnancy test. Knowing that he will soon have a child releases strength in Martin that he never knew he had. Beate apologizes to Tessa for her behavior. She is determined to spend a period doing reconstruction work in Africa, something she has always felt called to do. The fact that her husband had an affair with the farmer Annika Kruse makes the decision easier for her. On his way with Tessa to Kiel, where they are both seeking employment, Martin stops by to see his father and lets him know that he will soon be a grandfather.