Edith and Wolfgang have led a fairly harmonious family life for many years, together with their son Danilo. Edith has long since got over Wolfgang's infidelity twelve years ago, which resulted in a daughter. Every now and then he visits 12-year-old Sandra, simply fulfilling his fatherly duties. But suddenly the girl appears at the door.
Direction
Schmidt's unflinching gaze at polite cruelty.
Acting
Geißler's controlled implosion as the 'understanding' wife.
Director
Evelyn Schmidt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
DEFA's rare focus on bourgeois marital crisis rather than socialist heroism—Schmidt got this greenlit in 1980 East Germany, somehow.
The 85-minute runtime feels like a trap: you're lulled by domestic mundanity, then Sandra's entrance detonates everything.
XG
