Wir bleiben zusammen (2001)

The extended Bergmann family in Steyr, who employ an elderly housekeeper, Frau Scholz, are planning a wedding. Tine, the family’s eldest daughter and an outstanding pianist in a quintet, wants to marry the violinist Richard Oberberg in a marriage of convenience. The Bergmann parents are not exactly pleased about Tine and Richard’s marriage, but Tine’s mother says goodbye to her before the wedding. Tine and Richard drive ahead in the wedding car, and because Max returns late from a bike ride, their parents leave without him. When his cellphone rings, Father Bergmann loses his balance at the wheel, and the couple crash into a tree and are killed. Max runs to the registry office and announces his parents’ deaths during the ceremony, so the wedding falls through. Now Frau Freitag, an official with the youth welfare office, wants to help the family find a guardian for the minor children. Tine volunteers, and Frau Freitag tells her she must submit an application. When Tine’s boyfriend Richard refuses to take care of the children too and instead suggests sending them to a boarding school and placing the toddler Resi with foster parents, Tine leaves him. Chaos breaks out in the family, because Tine is already busy with her work in the quintet and now has to look after the children as well. Their neighbor, “Grandpa Friedrich,” helps the family. Frau Freitag summons the Bergmanns to a court hearing to settle the guardianship matter. Max claims he is responsible for his parents’ deaths in the accident, but Tine comforts him. At the hearing, Judge Bülow rules that Tine will be appointed guardian provisionally for three months and must prove her suitability. A final decision will be made in October. When Frau Freitag tries to make a home visit, Neli won’t let her into the house. The housekeeper, Frau Scholz, is locked in the toilet, and when Neli refuses to let her out under any circumstances, Frau Scholz calls Tine in the middle of a rehearsal at the recording studio. Tine has to come home to let her out. Afterward, Frau Scholz quits her job with the Bergmanns. At a concert, Tine makes a musical mistake, which outrages her fellow quintet members, though not the audience. Because of the heavy rain, Judge Bülow, who was in the audience, drives Tine home and finds the children playing at midnight. When Max confides in the judge about his supposed responsibility for his parents’ deaths, Bülow reassures him and tells the boy he cannot have been to blame. Max gives Henning a jump-start for his car. The next day, the still-underage Max accepts a registered letter from the youth welfare office addressed to Tine. To make matters worse, the letter ends up in the washing machine, so Tine knows nothing about the appointment. On the phone, Frau Freitag tells Tine that there was supposed to be an appointment that day and demands that the court hearing scheduled for October be brought forward. During a concert rehearsal, Neli looks after Therese in the background, which upsets Tine’s colleagues. Under the strain, Tine quits as pianist at Richard’s request. The next morning, Tine wakes up to find the rooms half wrecked, and Neli and Therese are gone, although Neli had only gone out to buy fresh diapers. Everyone searches for the two girls. Later, the police find them in Steyr. Judge Bülow comes to the house, warns Max about Frau Freitag’s visit, and helps tidy up, as does Grandpa Friedrich. When Frau Freitag makes her unannounced home visit, she finds the house in perfect condition. Max and Grandpa Friedrich serve her coffee and cake, and she eventually says goodbye to them. But afterward, she finds out that Judge Bülow was the one who had made it possible to create the illusion of a perfect home. Tine brings Judge Bülow some mail from the children, who wanted to thank him with drawings. Tine discovers Henning’s piano, and the two play together and enjoy themselves. They fall in love. Because of this new situation between Tine and Judge Bülow, no decision can be made at the court hearing for the time being. Henning apologizes, and court president Haase then takes over as presiding judge. Frau Freitag now wants the youth welfare office to take over the guardianship. The president delivers the ruling: Max and Neli must go to a children’s home, while Therese is to go to a foster family. The Bergmanns are more devastated than ever. Therese’s prospective foster parents introduce themselves in a video, but the Bergmanns are bitterly disappointed. Tine visits Richard Oberberg again; he has since found a new pianist. He now shows her his best side, offers to take her back, and Tine begins to grow close to him again. When the two older children are standing ready with their luggage to move to the children’s home, Tine tells the youth welfare office over the phone that she will not hand the children over. Frau Freitag now arranges a police operation, and the police storm the Bergmann house. Tine refuses to open the front door under any circumstances, and the police threaten to break it down. On top of that, Neli locks herself in her room out of fear, then appears at the open window and threatens to jump. Grandpa Friedrich appears at the front door with a club, and the police take him into custody temporarily. The fire department is called, rushes to the scene, and spreads out a rescue mat for Neli. Then Bülow and President Haase arrive too, finally call off the operation, and give Tine a deadline to prove herself and get another chance. Henning Bülow and Tine finally get together after all.