Die Besucherin

Agnes, a scientist, has got her life under control. Her career, her research work and her intact family life with her husband Walter and daughter Leni are all perfectly organised. As far as her time allows, she also has a good relationship with her sister, Karola. One day Karola suddenly decides to go away and hands a surprised Agnes the keys to an apartment where she is to look after the plants. The apartment looks as if it has been left in a hurry and, for some strange reason, Agnes feels mysteriously drawn towards it. She begins to visit on a regular basis and gradually takes over the place as if it were her own. She lies down on the bed, browses through the cupboards and makes a discovery – the apartment belongs to a married couple. The wife died in an accident on the way to her lover. Bruno, the widower, must have simply abandoned the flat. One day Agnes falls asleep in the apartment. She wakes up to feel a man lying behind her. It is Bruno. Al­though she doesn't really look at him or talk to him, they make love. He doesn't ask who she is or where she comes from. Agnes begins to visit Bruno regularly. Her life and her marriage begin to go off the rails. Agnes is just drifting and Bruno is trying to repress his grief. They begin to live like an ordinary pair of lovers. But they are not lovers – they are only using each other. And they know that their relationship has no future. (Berlinale)