This biographical film is set in 1937, with Fallada suffering the effects of living under a microscope. The film details his decline, as he is intermittently imprisoned and threatened in order to motivate him to write for the Fatherland. Even the attention of his kind, patient wife and loving children begin to feel oppressive to him. This is one of the few films to take a serious, in-depth look at the tribulations of a creative artist pulled in all different directions by the real world.

Based on a switched identity, in circumstances that are found in real life as well as fiction, this drama tells the story of two soldiers fighting together in World War I. Karl (Joachim Latsch) and Richard (Hans-Use Bauer) become close friends while serving time in a German POW camp. One day Karl manages a successful escape and goes to Richard's home where he seeks refuge posing as Richard. But Richard's wife Anna (Kathrin Waligura) has never given up hope that her husband is still alive -- a possibility that would shatter Karl's proposed new life. In fact, Richard did not die in the POW camp. This film shared the Grand Prix award at the 1985 Berlin Film Festival.

Two years ago, cinema poster painter Jonathan had agreed in his divorce to leave the sole custody for his son David to David′s mother Ruth. But at the boy′s ninth birthday, Jonathan all of a sudden returns to their house. In the meantime, Ruth has found a new Partner, Franz, whom David has accepted as his surrogate father. Although everybody tries to solve the new situation with a lot of tolerance, Franz and Jonathan become rivals. But this rivalry comes to an end when David has an accident. Now, the boy is allowed to visit his father Jonathan on the weekend whenever he wants to. But before that, David goes on one last adventure: On a trip to a vacation camp, Jonathan "kidnaps" his son to spend several days hitchhiking alone with his son. Then, he gets him back to the vacation camp.