Three sisters, two of whom haven't spoken to each other for many years, meet at the 100th birthday of the eldest of them. Together they relive a century of fateful events, scandals and missed opportunities.
In 1994, the three Janssen sisters come together on the Verhoeven estate in the Lower Rhine region to celebrate the eldest's 100th birthday. Hiltrud, however, has not come voluntarily. Her sister Martha, who is two years younger than her, wants to force her to speak to the now 84-year-old "baby of the family" Betty again after decades of working at the radio station. Although it may be the last opportunity, the strict Hiltrud shows little willingness to reconcile with Betty, whose lifestyle as housekeeper and secret wife of the deceased landowner Heinrich Verhoeven she deeply detests. Hiltrud, who was unmarried all her life, blames him for the fact that her fiancé, Heinrich's younger brother Franz, was killed in the First World War. The former headmistress cannot forgive her sister Betty for having to give a serious false statement at a trial in the 1950s in order to defend the family's reputation. Hiltrud's icy harshness also puts a strain on her relationship with Martha, who felt abandoned by her in important situations. When the students Annekatrin and Ira interview the trio in front of the camera for a short film, old wounds are reopened. Despite all the arguments, the women are connected by a guilt that has been hushed up for decades and which they must now face up to.—ADR Das Erste
