What Doesn't Kill Us

by Sandra Nettelbeck

From the director of "Mostly Martha".

As a divorced father of two teenage daughters, with a head-strong ex-wife for a best friend, too many peculiar patients to keep up with and a new dog, psychotherapist Max certainly doesn't need another challenge. But when Sophie, a compulsive gambler with a boyfriend problem, regularly shows up late for her appointments, she rocks his world in ways he's not ready for. It's not supposed to happen and it happens anyway: a therapist falls in love with a patient. And the more Max attempts to keep it professional, the more their lives get entangled. So how can he manage to help her without getting involved? How can loving her not lead to losing her altogether? Wrestling with his conscience and his heart, torn between the patient and the woman he's in love with, he has no choice but to stick to the old airplane rule: you must help yourself before you can help others.Populated with a colorful range of characters, WHAT DOESN'T KILL US is a heart-wrenching yet delightful mosaic of stories just past the midlife crisis, of matters of the heart and identity, of everyday struggles and longtime conflicts. It takes a tender and humorous look at the highs and lows that can either save us or haunt us when we realize that the second half time is already well on its way.

Genre / Language / Length
Tragicomedy / German / 129 minutes
Original title
Was uns nicht umbringt
directed by
Sandra Nettelbeck
produced by
Sommerhaus Filmproduktion GmbH in coproduction with Cine Plus Filmproduktion GmbH, Ruhrsoundstudios
Cast
  • August Zirner (COLONIA DIGNIDAD, BELLA MARTHA)
  • Johanna Ter Steege (GOODBYE)
  • Barbara Auer (THE BOOK THIEF)
  • Christian Berkel (ELLE, DOWNFALL)
  • Mark Waschke (DARK)
  • Deborah Kaufmann (DARK)

Press Quotes

“A crowd-pleaser.”
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

“Should strike a chord with a mature demographic who have embraced a range of titles from the Marigold Hotel series to the surprise British hit Finding Your Feet.”
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

“A sparky, and let‘s face it, touching satire delivered at a sustained pace.”
CINEUROPA

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