Melodies of Spring

Anna lives in a dreary world, never having fulfilled her expectations. She is a primary school teacher on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Thilo is an actor, at least on his calling card. Already in his mid-thirties, he still dreams of the big breakthrough. To earn money he sells wine through a call centre, or at least he tries to. Valerie, an old acquaintance from Anna′s hometown, and her husband Moritz, Thilo′s best friend, try to bring their two despondent friends together and fix up a date between them. But the timing is bad. Anna babbles on about her love for teaching and learning and Thilo expounds on the virtues of the acting profession. They are both just kidding themselves, and yet something has clicked between them. The sharp screech of a passing streetcar painfully reminds Anna of the school bell and she runs off – not without first giving Thilo a quick kiss on the mouth. But this is only the beginning of a series of ups and downs in their new relationship…

What makes "Melodies of Spring" so special is that it is a "melodious love comedy". When the protagonists get that special feeling, they find the words coming out of their mouths are excerpts from original songs, as if the lyrics were a continuation of their dialogue. Director Martin Walz: "The people sing in the film when it simply bursts out of them. When they are so emotionally moved that words are no longer enough and they are overcome by their feelings – when their heart is on the tip of their tongue, as it were."

Source: 58. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)