A well-heeled family moves to France to clear their heads. They live in their parents’ large house with beautiful grounds and, of course, a pool. In the evening, they go to a fine French restaurant. On the way home, however, there is an accident involving a young woman (Theodora), which is not entirely coincidental. The family was under observation and the accident is faked.
For certain reasons, they don’t want to call an ambulance, even when Theodora asks to be taken to hospital. In the end, the mother (Esther) is able to persuade the stranger to come to the house to look after her.
The next morning, Theodora is no longer in the house, but later that day she rings the bell at the gate to the property and wants to talk. She tells them that she has been made redundant because of her injured arm and it would surely be best if they hired her as domestic help. This paves the way for Theodora to become firmly rooted in the family and discreetly and unobtrusively ensures that the right people cross her path at the right time to further infiltrate the family.
The only one who realizes after a few days that something is wrong with Theodora’s presence is her daughter Alba (Naila Schuberth). She sometimes observes how Theodora has stolen her mother’s cell phone from her pocket. When she tells her mother about it and she then confronts Theodora with Alba’s statement, Theodora denies the child’s accusation and the matter is off the table for her mother.
Meanwhile, Alba’s older brother Phillipp falls in love with Theodora, films her and watches a video of her again and again in the evening. This means that Phillipp is also “integrated” into Theodora’s game.
In the final step, Theodora brings her friends into family life, who look after her parents and slowly chip away at the construct of the relationship. From now on, the trap snaps shut inexorably and the family is slowly torn apart because almost everyone is only concerned with themselves and doesn’t really listen to the others. Even when one person suddenly disappears, this is not a major issue.
Conclusion:
This movie is definitely not for vegetarians, because meat is the new vegetable here and it’s not always as “Delicious” as you might think. Apart from the first few minutes, which seem rather confusing, the plot is quite solid and moves towards the finale at a reasonable pace. The tension is built up purposefully.
Of the actors, Carla Díaz in the role of Theodora and the young actress Naila Schuberth as Alba deserve special mention. Both bring their characters convincingly and authentically to the screen or, from March 7, to the television.
Actors:
Fahri Yardim (John)
Valerie Pachner (Esther)
Carla Díaz (Teodora)
Naila Schuberth (Alba)
Caspar Hoffmann (Phillipp)
Julien de Saint Jean (Lucien)
Director:
Nele Mueller-Stöfen
More about the movie:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2025/programme/202503028.html
