Home for the Weekend

Marko is in his mid-30s, has just published his first book, and has been living in Berlin since his university days – far enough away from his parents Gitte and Günther with their bourgeois lifestyle. He visits them once or twice a year, mainly to give them a chance to spend a few days with their grandson. His hopes of spending a quiet weekend with his family fall short when Gitte, who has been mentally unstable since Marko was a child, feels healthy for the first time in a long time and stops taking her medication. She asks to be treated from now on as a full member of the family and, now that her husband Günther is finally selling his publishing company, is looking forward to their retirement days together.

Gitte’s announcement triggers reserved reactions. Fearing for his mother’s health, Marko’s younger brother Jakob insists she continue her medication, whilst Gitte’s unexpected recovery seems to be foiling Günther’s retirement plans. Marko is the only one who stands behind Gitte’s decision, seeing it as a chance for her and the family. When Jakob can no longer hide his financial troubles, Marko is the only one who respects his mother’s wishes and doesn’t hide this bitter failure from her and, in so doing, tips his family’s seemingly wellestablished structure out of balance.

Philipp Bräuer