Title: Die Saat | The Seed von Mia Maariel Meyer
Rainer (Hanno Koffler) has worked for many years in a construction company owned by the family, which the son (Kleemann, played by Andreas Döhler) now runs after his father’s death. In the current construction project, he is active for the first time as site manager, but the first conflicts arise right at the beginning. Material deliveries are deficient, the project takes too long and the investors become increasingly impatient. Rainer, however, shows himself to be very relaxed from day to day. He assures Kleemann that he will manage it all and that they will absolutely stay on schedule. The basis for this is, above all, the employees on the construction site, with whom Rainer is on a first-name basis, and not without good reason, because where things need to be tackled, he is always there with a great deal of commitment and friendship.
He also urgently needs the job as site manager, because he has just moved with his now growing family and there is still work to be done on the house. His wife Anna Blomeier (Nadine Matschek) is pregnant and his 13-year-old daughter Doreen (Dora Zygoouri) is not quite happy with the new surroundings, although she is always helpful and understanding.
But the tide turns abruptly for the family when Kleeman shows up at the construction site with a new construction manager, who signals in the first few minutes that he will be the exact opposite of Rainer. Since Rainer knows Mr. Kleeman well, he of course immediately seeks to talk to him, after all, he was promised the job as site manager and this position is also important for the family’s financial situation. Kleeman, however, only asks for understanding, refers to the high pressure he has through the investors and promises that with the next building project and an award of the investors he will immediately get the construction manager job, but this time once again an experienced professional is to work. Rainer trusts this statement, even if it visibly begins to seethe inside him. Of course, Anna is not very happy about this news either, especially now after the move and when they are expecting the baby, and Doreen also notices the worries that are slowly growing here. Rainer considers various options, including moving to another construction company with high confidence that it will be an easy match with his experience. But his first job interview fails with the simple words that he lacks experience as a construction manager, but how is he supposed to gather it if he doesn’t get the chance anywhere?
Parallel to these events, Doreen explores her new home discontentedly, although her father has given her a lot of confidence. Doreen has great trust in her father and a very close bond, so his words always mean a lot to her.
In the neighborhood, she discovers Mara, who is performing a dance routine in the garden, which she secretly attends. She quickly comes into personal contact with Mara. The two also share an interest in dancing and this sight makes her father happy, of course, because his daughter seems to have found a new friendship. As the two move through the area together, however, a trio of girls shows up who have Mara in their sights, but Doreen stands up for her new friend and so the three move away again. When asked who the three were, however, Mara blocks them. Later in the film, the girls meet again at a horse farm, this time ramming Mara to the ground as they pass. Mara is of course extremely upset about this and when she sees the girls’ unattended bikes, she gets Doreen to manipulate one of the bikes. Doreen hesitates and does not feel comfortable, because such a thing is not really in her nature, but in the end she does it for the sake of friendship. Together, the two then watch as one of the girls falls heavily shortly after departure, a sight that makes Doreen anything but happy, but to her parents she remains silent. She is very aware that there are other problems here and she obviously feels strong enough to find her own solution for what she has experienced. But before she can recover from these impressions, she finds herself in another unexpected situation with Mara. In a gas station Mara asks her to steal something. While Doreen is still expressing her doubts, the gas station attendant notices what is going on and both escape with their bikes by a hair’s breadth. This unexpected experience was a clear border crossing for Doreen and so she breaks the friendship for the time being. When Doreen then tries to get back in touch with her old friend Frida and is miserably rebuffed, however, she returns to Mara and the two settle down by a lake after a reconciliation. But appearances are deceiving, as Mara suddenly pushes Doreen under the water several times and threatens her not to tell anyone about the incident at the gas station, then Mara disappears, leaving Doreen alone, who is completely in shock.
The general situation in the family has worsened in the course and at the construction site the situation comes to a head to the extreme, until the situation escalates completely and gets out of hand. In the end, Doreen also has to deal with Mara once again.
Conclusion:
The Seed is actually a package for two films. One story revolves around the two parents who are unexpectedly confronted with the worries of their future and the world of young Doreen who is not only going through the hard life of a teenager, but also had to give up her roots by moving. The situation with Mara doesn’t make it any easier, and yet she remains more down-to-earth than you would expect until the end of the film. Regarding Doreen, it’s not a film that points the finger at the hardcore life of a teenager, on the contrary. That also does quite well. With Rainer I occasionally had to draw parallels to myself. He is an absolute do-gooder and always believes in a good outcome without a big fight, but this is exactly what he is confronted with as the pressure increases. The title of the film is also perfectly chosen. With each sequence even more conflict is sown and each character goes partly his own way. And even oneself might find oneself with anger bubbling up inside during some confrontations about the injustice that one witnesses as a viewer. However, I would not call “Die Saat” an outstanding work of German cinematic art, because it is somehow too predictable for that, as the screw of conflicts turns deeper and deeper. Only the ending between Mara and Doreen stands out as somewhat unexpected.
Actors:
Hanno Koffler (Rainer Matschek)
Dora Zygouri (Doreen Matschek)
Anna Blomeier (Nadine Matschek)
Andreas Döhler (Kleemann)
Lilith Julie Johna (Mara)
Robert Stadlober (Klose)
Director:
Mia Maariel Meyer
Infos about the Movie:
https://www.berlinale.de/de/programm/programm/detail.html?film_id=202107213
Trailer:
