The granddaughter hasn’t seen her beloved grandmother for years – now it’s too late. What the trip to the funeral triggers in her can be seen in the drama “Geranien” – a “modern homeland film” from the Ruhr area.
It happened so suddenly: the fun-loving grandmother is dead. And her granddaughter, actress Nina (Friederike Becht), travels from Berlin to the funeral back to her parents’ cramped house in the Ruhr area. There Nina learns from her father Harald (Peer Martiny) that the funeral has been postponed.
Her mother Konnie (Marion Ottschick), who works in a small kiosk, immediately argues with Nina because she didn’t bring her little daughter with her. Due to the unintentionally extended stay, Nina somehow has to get along with Konnie, who otherwise prefers to avoid her. The drama “Geraniums” on Monday evening at 12.10 a.m. on ZDF shows whether this is going well, it is part of the series “Shooting Stars – Young Cinema in the Second”.
Konnie, on the other hand, finds it difficult to finally make peace with her now dead mother, which Nina doesn’t even notice. So Nina and Konnie don’t have much to say to each other – which of course they don’t want to admit. The days of paralyzing waiting and a lot of organizing – choosing the coffin and chapel, talking to the stonemason and the pastor – at least make for small gestures and talks.
Director Tanja Egen (38), who wrote the screenplay with Esther Preußler (39) and also acts as producer, tells of a strange relationship between mother and daughter. Her first feature film is convincing thanks to believable dialogues, a harmonious atmosphere and good actors. It was shot in Holzwickede in the Ruhr area, which is probably why the film was given the label “modern homeland film” by ZDF. Whatever that is supposed to be – the story is an outright, almost laconic mother-daughter drama, albeit in front of pretty floral decorations with red geraniums.
Friederike Becht (36, “Suddenly so quiet”, “As loud as you can”) impressively plays a daughter who mourns the loss of her grandmother, who died much too early, and has to realize that her apartment has already been completely cleared by her parents – only she could still have her cuckoo clock. While she openly expresses her grief, her parents seem strangely unaffected, even a little overwhelmed. You can see many small everyday scenes with faces in close-ups, which tell a lot even without dialogue. Basically, everyone does their own thing here, but it becomes clear that grandma used to keep the family together. That’s no longer possible.