Completed - GERMAN, ENGLISH - Drama, Romance - 100 minutes
Year of production : 1997 Director(s) : Ivan FILA Writer(s) : Ivan FILA Cast : Christian REDL, Hanna SCHYGULLA, Lenka VLASAKOVA, Miroslav DONUTIL, Udo KIER Producer(s) : Herbert RIMBACH (Avista Film), Ivan FILA (Ivan Fila Filmproduktion)
A love story between two outsiders: Lea, a speech-impared girl from rural Slovakia, and Herbert, a recluse who lives in an old farmhouse at the edge of the Bavarian forest where he restores antique furniture. Herbert arrives in Slovakia to settle a property claim. He discovers Lea who bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife. Herbert persuades Lea's step-parents to sell her, takes her to Germany against her will, and forces her to marry him. Much earlier, at the age of seven, Lea witnessed the violent death of her mother by her father's hand. After the incident, she stopped speaking. She withdraws into a world of dreams and visions. Her imaginary world also serves as a protective shell which Herbert tries in vain to penetrate.Lea hates Herbert. She is wary of the deep, irreconciable split in his personality and she fears his violent outbursts that remind her of her father. From the onset, any real relationship appears to be doomed. Gradually, however, changes begin to occur as each slowly discover the secretive inner core of the other; discover that they are linked by a fragile and lingering bond with the past. For Lea, the painful death of her mother - for Herbert, the sudden death of his wife. Shattered by his tragedy, Herbert spent the next 20 years in the French Foreign Legion. Cracks begin to appear in Herbert's armour. He begins to reveal feelings and emotions that attract Lea's attention and, slowly, her interest. Two uncommon people, at the edge of silence, gradually learn to speak a common language.
Country(ies) : GERMANY
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