Woche für Woche (2009)

At the beginning of the film, Felix’s parents separate. However, they still want to share custody of their child. They agree to look after Felix for one full week each, alternating weeks. This seemingly fair solution soon proves stressful for everyone involved, and Felix’s parents feel unable to continue with the arrangement. They bring this up with their family therapist, Dr. Theodor Samel. In the process, conflicts they had previously kept in the background come to light, including their differing ideas about how to raise Felix. His mother tries to support him as best she can and sends him to various classes, such as yoga, while his father believes he should give his son plenty of freedom. He takes him to the go-kart track or to the cinema. Miriam is also jealous of Paul because he is having an affair with Nike Svensson. Felix, who does not attend the therapy sessions, believes the therapist is partly to blame for his parents’ arguments. When Miriam visits Paul at his carpentry workshop, she tells him that she has written the invitations for Felix’s birthday and invited all the children to her place. This is unacceptable to his father, since he is responsible for Felix’s care that week. During the argument that follows, he demands that she sell the car and get a job. In return, she demands that he give back the key to the apartment where she lives. At the parents’ next meeting with Dr. Samel, he suggests holding the birthday party somewhere neutral, rather than at either parent’s home. They decide on an indoor playground. Since the invitations have already been written and handed out, Felix has to distribute invitations again. This confuses most of the children who were invited. The only guests are Felix’s maternal relatives and Cerem. However, Cerem’s older brother quickly leaves the party again with Cerem. In the days that follow, Miriam goes to the employment office. There she falls in love with her employment counselor, Holger Bartel. The counselor soon finds out how Felix’s parents share his care. He and his wife would have done exactly the same with their daughter. But they were overwhelmed, so they eventually agreed on a different arrangement. As Felix’s suspicion that Dr. Samuel is fueling the arguments between his parents grows, he decides to take revenge on Dr. Samuel. He lies in wait for the therapist outside his practice. When the therapist comes out, Felix shoots at him with his slingshot. The psychologist has seen him, however, and chases him into the park. Dr. Samuel had previously known Felix only from his parents’ stories, so he does not recognize him and initially assumes it is an ordinary prank. He asks Felix for his parents’ names. Only after Felix tells him their names does he recognize him. The psychotherapist then decides to invite Felix to his home. There, he talks with Felix about his motives. When it becomes clear that Felix is angry with the psychotherapist, Dr. Samel explains that his worries are unfounded. Felix realizes that he has hurt the psychologist and decides to make amends by giving him a wooden figure split in half. At the parents’ next appointment with the psychologist, he places the figure in plain sight on his desk, without explicitly drawing their attention to it. The psychologist now sets new ground rules: Felix is no longer to be the subject of their discussions with him. In the days that follow, things become easier for both Felix and his parents. At a meal with Miriam, Paul, Holger Bartel, and Nike Svensson, as well as Felix and Holger Bartel’s daughter from his previous marriage, the story suggests that Miriam and Paul are growing close again, and that Holger Bartel and Nike Svensson may be growing close too. Felix leaves the room with Holger Bartel’s daughter and asks God to take care of the adults; he is doing fine now.