DIE FAMILIE

Habitual truant Isabell, 16, is sent to a self-knowledge seminar in the Sudeten Mountains for summer holidays by her desperate single mother. In the midst of untouched nature, she encounters a group of psycho-esoterics led by therapist Einar and his wife Julia: both are considered to be luminaries of so-called “systemic family constellation”. Though Isabell initially refuses to take an active part in the eccentric group meetings, after a while she gets convinced by an arising feeling of togetherness. Above all, she is highly attracted by Einar himself – it flatters her being aware that the charismatic man also has cast an eye at her. What seems like an exciting adventure in the beginning shifts as one of the participants – Saskia, a young woman who has lost her own daughter some years ago – loses her mind and disappears without a trace. Though Einar claims that the young woman just went home, surprisingly, Isabell can’t get rid of the feeling she’s been a victim of a violent crime. A horror story (told by 19-year-old local Teresa during an exciting night hike in the mountains) about Einar’s grandfather, who has allegedly been at that time the leader of a demonic mountain cult, makes Isabell’s confusion perfect. While there’s increasing evidence that the therapist is constantly lying, Isabell is bewitched by him more and more. The stay in the romantic German-Czech-Polish border region becomes a nightmare when Saskia’s mutilated body is found in the woods. When it comes to her own family constellation shortly thereafter, Isabell begins to sense that the relationship between Einar and herself is closer than she could ever imagine …

A gloomy, erotic, psychological thriller about the universal trials and tribulations of growing up.

Teaser

Director

CONSTANZE KNOCHE studied Dramaturgy at the Academy of Music and Theater in Leipzig and Directing at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, the Film Academy Vienna and the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in Lisbon. Active as a director, writer and producer, her films include: TERESA’S ROOM (2007), VISITORS (2012), SAD SONGS OF HAPPINESS (doc, 2014), and FAMILY (2017).

Constanze Knoche photos © Neufilm