Wir können nicht anders (2020)

Junior professor Samuel from Frankfurt meets the young Edda in Berlin shortly before Christmas. The two spend a night in Samuel’s camper van and the next day drive to the Brandenburg countryside to surprise her father for his birthday in Edda’s hometown of Friedberg. On the way, during a break in the woods, they happen to see gangster Herrmann trying to kill a rival because the man is in love with Herrmann’s wife, Katja. When Samuel tries to stop the execution, he is spotted and has to flee. The man marked for execution flees with him in Samuel’s camper van. Edda, however, has left it behind and is alone in the woods, determined to make her way to Friedberg on foot. There she runs into Frank, an old school friend who is now a police officer. He tries to rape her, so she shoots him in the neck. Meanwhile, Samuel and Rudi are still being pursued and have to hide. They take refuge in what appears to be an abandoned factory complex. But former employee Rainer has made himself at home there as a self-appointed sheriff and guardian of order. Although he doesn’t like people on “his” property, he does not turn the two men in when Herrmann, his son, arrives with his four companions. Samuel and Rudi move on and argue because Rudi is determined to fight for his Katja. He can’t help it: a man stands up for the people he loves, and someone who loves cannot lose. Samuel cannot understand this, since Herrmann would have killed Rudi if he had not intervened, and yet Rudi has nothing better to do than keep seeking a confrontation. They part ways, and each goes his own way. Samuel hopes to find Edda at her father’s birthday party, which is being celebrated with a large gathering at the local inn. But Herrmann and his men are there too. As soon as Samuel sees them, he runs, but is soon spotted. By now it is getting dark, and Rudi sneaks into Katja’s house. Herrmann has tasked one of his men with guarding his wife. Rudi drives a rapier through the man’s shoulder and the armchair he is sitting in. Katja is deeply shocked and asks, “How am I supposed to explain this to Herrmann?” Rudi merely says that he can’t help it. When Herrmann arrives with his men and Samuel, he does nothing to help his colleague. He is too angry that his Katja has run off with Rudi. As Katja is trying to persuade Rudi to leave town without her, Herrmann catches up with them. He is still determined to kill Rudi because actions have consequences. Before things get any worse, Edda, who has followed Samuel there, interrupts them. When Samuel tries to leave with Edda, Herrmann threatens him with his gun, but Samuel refuses to be terrorized any longer. He takes Edda by the hand and simply walks away. In his rage, Herrmann then shoots Rudi, wanting to finish what he started, just as he has always explained to his men. When Herrmann’s father arrives, he shoots him too. No one should tell him what to do anymore—not even his father. After also shooting and injuring his beloved Katja, he finally shoots himself.