It couldn’t be more sentimental. A contact ad is placed, and two senior citizens meet. They fall in love head-over-heels and move into a house by the sea. But wait, it isn’t that simple. You see, Peter (68) likes it nice and easy, while Hanne (70) prefers to pull up weeds. Hanne wants to aqua jog, Peter thinks it’s useless. Hanne thinks Peter is lazy, that annoys Peter. Hanne is so stressed she collapses. Peter saw it coming. And then there’s Hanne’s jealous son who keeps calling. Not to mention the traumas of the past that slowly but surely reclaim their place in this new life. The Future Is Ours: An oddly honest look at an elderly couple’s young love.
What does love feel like when you’re old? Hanne and Peter are newly in love and together they explore their new path. Both have had a long, full life with another partner. Neither Hanne nor Peter ever expected to feel like this again: At 70 Hanne, unconventional and full of life, falls in love with Peter, who is a year younger. And Peter falls in love with Hanne. They were both recently widowed and now their lives take a new direction: they plan to live out their lives full of love and companionship. Without further ado and on the wings of love Hanne packs up her home in Swabian Aidlingen, and moves north to live with Peter in Flensburg. She leaves behind not only a big house but 40 years of her life and two grown children who learn to deal with this new situation in their own way.
Despite all their affection and fondness for each other Hanne and Peter realize very quickly that two worlds and two mentalities, which couldn’t be more different, collide in their new-found daily life. There is a lot of friction, and Hanne’s son Thorsten just does not want to get used to his mother living up in the cold North. But in spite of all these difficulties Hanne and Peter try to overcome the hurdles of everyday life and establish the basis for a mutual existence.
THE FUTURE IS OURS
Documentary by Marisa Middleton
Deutschland 2014, 60 min, HD
PRODUCTION COMPANIES:
INDI FILM, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and SWR
FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
MFG regional fund Baden-Württemberg
FESTIVALS:
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2014
Fünf Seen Filmfestival 2014