Acting
Reni Wirth is a woman in her "prime," in her late thirties, a housewife like millions of others and seemingly fulfilled by caring for her husband and two teenage daughters. Despite slight irritations about her mere existence as a housewife, she takes good care of her family. A preventive breast cancer screening completely disrupts the apparent family idyll. Although the worst fears are not confirmed, after days of terrible anxiety, Reni begins to understand the misery of her personal situation: her daughters will soon be on their own, and she can hardly return to the profession she once learned. What will be left for her? Reni takes a courageous but uncertain step toward somewhere where she suspects she will find "freedom."
When Edith Howland's husband abandons her for a younger woman, leaving her with their alcoholic son and his senile uncle, she begins recording details of an imaginary, much more successful life where she has friends and grandchildren. However, this diversion soon grows unhealthy when she becomes slowly convinced that the fantasies are real.
Citizens of East Germany talk about their experiences and feelings in the face of upcoming elections that will lead to reunification with the West. The past is tinged with regret, frustration and anger, while the future is uncertain.
Erich Bauermann is a smart, young, good-looking guy (he thinks). His life becomes troublesome, when he first meets a very unusual woman and an even more unusual bank robber.
Johanna has fled Nazi Germany to visit a friend in Finland, and from there she continues on to her friend's family's estate. Once at the estate, Johanna passionately argues with her friend's pro-Nazi brother and at the same time, falls for the second, good-looking brother who shares her own anti-fascist feelings. The two are soon engaged in an active sexual relationship that continues as they travel north to an Arctic port.
A woman reflects on her romantic relationship with a young Moroccan years ago. Her daughter travels to Morocco, attempting to relive her mother's past.
Young men from a car repair shop in Loch Ness, northern Scotland, use a sea monster imitation to rescue castle residents from murder attacks. This allows them the "real" Nessie - Monster into the enclosure. A simple-minded mixture of crime thriller, slapstick and action for simple demands.
Hungerjahre is a movie about adolescence in 1950s West Germany, in which director and scriptwriter Jutta BrĂĽckner comes to terms with her own memories.
"L'art pour l'art" is a principle that also applies to short films. It remains to be seen what interpretation of meaning would be appropriate for the film, as its design in terms of images and editing, color and sound conveys appealing aspects, evokes associations and, moreover—once again in a tradition of deep meaning—takes up the doppelganger motif.
