Forever Parents

Since the children have left home, Anja and Michael Wagner have been looking forward to their long-awaited freedom. Daughter Stella is pursuing a career abroad, son Niklas is working as a prospective teacher at a school. The house has been sold and traded for a new, smaller apartment near downtown Munich. But then Niklas, a week before an important exam, is suddenly kicked out of his shared apartment and, in the midst of the moving chaos, asks his parents for shelter. After a brief hesitation, Anja and Michael show their usual willingness to help, while Niklas dutifully offers to help out around the house and is confident that he will soon find a new place to live.

What Anja and Michael did not expect, however, is Niklas’ girlfriend Alina, who shortly thereafter also moves in with them “only temporarily”. The first conflicts are brewing: The young lovers spread out in the apartment, and Anja finds Alina’s demeanor decidedly too brash. As a result, Alina disappears to Lisbon for an Erasmus study year, which does not necessarily contribute to Niklas’ mental well-being – nor does his unsuccessful search for an apartment. Niklas finds it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the upcoming exam. And so the class visit ends in disaster. While Anja gets her son a new exam date with the help of Karl, a family friend with contacts in the ministry and an obvious fondness for Anja, Niklas questions his entire path in life. Because everything at the Wagners revolves around the ‘problem son’, Anja and Michael increasingly clash. A solution is needed to save the marriage and the family peace…