VAKUUM

SYNOPSIS

Amidst the preparations for her 35th wedding anniversary, Meredith is surprised by the discovery that she is HIV-positive. Only her husband André could have been the carrier of the virus. Shaken, Meredith finds out that he has been unfaithful to her by visiting prostitutes. She confronts André with the diagnosis and throws him out of the house. But Meredith has always built her life around caring for her family and cannot bear being alone. Following an intense fight, she finally consents to André's return. They decide to deal with the condemnations and the illness together. Yet, the relationship remains tainted. The closer they come to their anniversary celebration, the more apparent the deep divide becomes. Brave, enraged and hopeful, Meredith senses that there can only be a future together when she can forgive André unconditionally. But can she? With her second feature, Christine Repond demonstrates her delicate sense for the highs and lows of intense emotions. Barbara Auer and Robert Hunger-Bühler are the most outstanding actors of their generation - and the setting lets them explore the nuances of a couple amidst an emotional shipwreck profoundly, vividly. The rich inner space of upheaval is given perfect exposure in calm imagery by Aline Laszlo, purposefully serving the story without any unnecessary effects. Space, furniture and clothing are silent witnesses of this couples bigotry – wonderfully intense differences between public appearance and inner world develop gradually. This film makes the most of its truly bourgeois backdrop, leaving no stone unturned in its close examination of a well-off-relationship.