Nachmittag

Summary

Afternoon

After a long absence, the actor Irene visits her lakeside house where her brother Alex and her son Konstantin live. It is a hot summer. Konstantin′s girlfriend Agnes is also there, spending the summer break at her family′s house next door. Konstantin and Agnes grew up together. Agnes is now at university; Konstantin writes and hasn′t left his home by the lake. But when they see each other again, things are no longer the same, and every doubt is mercilessly exposed. Into this confusion enters Irene. Mother and son′s common past repeats itself as a futile struggle for recognition, fought with irony and aggression. The relationship is over, but the loss is unbearable.

Irene summons her lover for consolation. Konstantin goes to pieces. But his girlfriend takes a liking this lover; he eases her heart. He liberates her a little, and she begins to forget Konstantin. In the end mother and son are alone. In terms of a lifespan, only a few hours have passed. It is cooler and they feel the wind. The main characters of Chekhov′s "The Seagull", today, here, on three lovely, terrible summer afternoons.

Source: 57. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)