SOMMERHÄUSER

In the hot and humid summer of 1976, the extended family meets in Aunt Sophie’s garden as it does every year. But this summer everything is different: Aunt Sophie has just died, her favourite tree has been struck by lightning and there is tension in the air. Old conflicts between family members rise up again. In her debut film, Sonja Maria Kröner shows how enduring and merciless family conflicts can be. The outstanding cast (including Laura Tonke, Ursula Werner and Thomas Loibl) captures the boredom and taciturnity of family life until a storm erupts. An intelligent film of honest yet absurd banality, that tells its story in between pictures.