Wohin mit Vater? (2010)

Thomas has not lived with his parents in Dessau for a long time. He lives hundreds of kilometers away in West Germany and hardly ever sees his sister Susanne either. His mother cares for his father, Michael, a retired architect who can no longer manage without assistance after suffering a stroke, in the house he designed and built. She carries him up and down the stairs, while his physical decline grows increasingly severe over time. Having a stairlift installed is out of the question for the architect in his own home. Thomas is just starting a family when he receives an urgent call: his mother is unwell, and he is asked to get to his childhood home as quickly as possible. Thomas cannot make it in time, and by the time he arrives, his mother has already died of a heart attack. Apparently, the physical strain of caring for his father at home had become too much for her. Now the funeral has to be arranged, leaving little time for them to grieve together. His father, Michael, is naturally unable to run the household on his own, but refuses to move into a care home. Thomas and Susanne now face the question of who will look after their father. At first, Thomas secretly hopes that his sister will give up her own life and devote herself to caring for their father. If she does not want to, who will take over his care—and, above all, who will pay for it? These agonizing questions are ones neither of them can answer at first. The two of them realize that in the past they had together kept silent about important matters concerning their parents’ future, and are now being confronted with them in a painful way.