Synopsis :
ALEX (67) is a vigorous misanthropic writer who lives
a solitary life on the North Sea shore, estranged from
the people from his distant past (Yugoslavia) and his
current environment (Germany). One day, an orphan
girl called ROMI (6) is brought to Alex. The girl may
or may not be Alex’s child from a random encounter
with a prostitute. While driving Romi to a near-by
town and Social Welfare Center, where he plans to
hand her over to the authorities, Alex tells Romi in
flashback form a story about his childhood, from the
time of his accidental and unwanted conception in
1939 to age eight.
Alex’s mother JELENA (25), a communist activist, is
carried away by her grandiose ideals yet is incapable
of loving those closest to her. The only person who
offers Alex any love and warmth during his child-
hood is WERNER KRAUS (35), a high-ranking officer of
the Wermacht, accommodated in the house of Alex’s
family during the German occupation of Yugoslavia.
Alex remembers the story-telling sessions, piano
playing, picnics and trips to the movies, all of which
were from the time he spent with Werner.
Apart
from his love towards Alex, Werner is having a secret
affair with Jelena at the same time. However, fearful
of love, Jelena uses her relationship with him for
her work in the resistance movement. Werner loses
his rank as a result, and when his family is killed
during the Berlin bombing by the Allied forces, he
completely withdraws into himself. Alex manages to
get close to him.
After the war, when Werner realizes
the extent to which the child has been neglected, he
takes Alex along. The Allied planes attack a withdrawing German military convoy, and Werner gets killed
as he throws himself over Alex to protect him.
Since then, intellectually longing to be a part of
Werner’s higher culture, Alex becomes a severely
love-deficient person, just like his mother. Through
the story he tells Romi, Alex experiences catharsis
and becomes more humane. As a result, when they arrive at the welfare centre, Alex decides to keep Romi and bring her up himself.
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