Wir tun es für Geld (2014)

Ines and Moritz, from Berlin, get married at the registry office. They have known each other since they were young and lived together in a shared apartment while studying. Their wedding, however, is only a marriage of convenience, and they have not been a couple for a long time, since Ines is now with Bernd. Ines’s father, Günther, had persuaded his daughter to enter into the sham marriage as a tax-saving scheme. As chief financial officer at a large company, Ines pays the top rate of tax. Thirty-six-year-old Moritz studied music and journalism, but earns very little as an archivist at the music magazine The Music Magazine. Thanks to income splitting for married couples, Ines saves a high five-figure sum in taxes. In return, Ines pays half of Moritz’s rent. In truth, though, he did it not for the money but only for Ines, because he is still secretly in love with her. Moritz now lives alone in the apartment they once shared and is having an affair with Vanessa, a waitress. She works at Wolfi’s pub; Wolfi also served as witness at their wedding. A year later, a new neighbor, Ekkehard, moves in across from Moritz’s apartment. One evening, when Moritz plays his music loudly, the neighbor immediately calls the police. Moritz is annoyed by his seemingly stuffy and pedantic neighbor and confronts him. Ekkehard learns about Moritz’s impressive LP collection and is delighted. But when he sees Moritz’s basic turntable, he shows him his own expensive high-end turntable at home and invites him over to listen to records. As they talk, Ekkehard also learns about Moritz’s personal blog, where he writes about music, and tells Moritz that until recently he was in a relationship and had to find an apartment here after the breakup. To Moritz’s dismay, however, Ekkehard works at the tax office in the assessment and collection department, handling cases with initial letters E through H—making him the couple’s case officer. Ekkehard explains that he despises nothing more than people who freeload off society and dodge their taxes: they call him “the Python from E to H.” Misappropriating taxes is punishable not only as fraud and tax evasion, but is above all antisocial, because the money is needed for kindergartens, schools, and hospitals. From then on, Ines is supposed to come to Moritz’s apartment at least twice a week and cross paths with Ekkehard as he leaves in the morning. He always leaves the house promptly at 7:15. One morning, a water pipe bursts in Ekkehard’s apartment. Moritz agrees to take the electrical appliances into his apartment, and also agrees to spend the night in Moritz’s apartment—which means Ines has to spend the night there too. The next day, Ines has plans to go tango dancing with her boyfriend Bernd, and Moritz has to make Ekkehard believe that the couple are dancing together. Instead, Moritz visits Vanessa at Wolfi’s pub. When Ekkehard also comes to the pub that evening, Moritz makes excuses, saying he sprained his foot and that Ines therefore went dancing with Bernd, who is Vanessa’s fiancé. Later, when Ines and Bernd also arrive at the pub, Vanessa kisses Bernd, and Ines and Moritz continue playing their roles as a couple. Moritz learns that his company is looking for an editor for soul, jazz, and blues, and applies for the position. Ekkehard tells Moritz not to make the same mistake he did by listening to other people’s opinions about love. He should fight for his wife, and Ekkehard wants to teach him to tango. Later, Ekkehard visits Bernd at the pub and firmly tells him that Ines and Moritz belong together and that he should leave them alone—after all, he has Vanessa. Ekkehard arranges a romantic dinner at a restaurant for Moritz and Ines. Bernd shows up that evening and makes a scene with Ines at the restaurant. For their wedding anniversary, Ekkehard and Moritz’s mother, Gisela, give the two of them tickets for a steamboat trip on the Spree. Suddenly, a man rings the doorbell and Ekkehard answers it. It is Robert, the partner Ekkehard separated from. When Moritz hears tango music during his steamboat trip, he impulsively jumps overboard and goes looking for Ines at the dance school. Ines has by now decided to get a divorce; Moritz agrees, but wants one last dance with her. Ines is impressed by his dancing. That evening, when Ines goes to see Bernd, she finds him in the bathtub with Vanessa. Meanwhile, Moritz has got the new job as an editor. When Ines returns to the apartment where Moritz and Ekkehard are, the couple confess to the sham marriage. The next day, Ekkehard summons them all to his office at the tax office. There, the two admit to having entered into “a sham marriage for the purpose of reducing their taxes.” Moritz then tells Ines that he loves her, proposes to her, and wants them to continue their marriage together. Ines agrees, they kiss, and since their marriage is now a genuine one, Ekkehard refrains from pursuing the matter or imposing criminal penalties. In the end, Ekkehard also gets back together with his partner, Robert.