Nichts bereuen

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

Humiliated and down on his luck, a superintendent turns his life around when he decides to write a book.

Cécile teaches English at the Collegium in Bruges. She has a boyfriend, Thomas, a student at the Beaux-Arts. Cécile lives with Mrs. Hanka, who reads horoscopes and surrounds herself with natal charts. She says she's known a lot about people for 30 years.

Jules, a rebellious septuagenarian, foments a revolt in his home ruled by quasi-military rules. He and his twenty supporters will oppose the management, the firefighters and even the gendarmes.

Handsome Jules has problems with school and girls. His domineering dad doesn't make matters easier, although his mom is supportive of her only child. Contemplating an extramarital affair, Claude Jade attempts to discreetly shop for condoms, a cute twist on what is traditionally a teenage boy's awkward ordeal.

At fifty, René Maugras has lost everything. This wealthy press boss fell into a coma and was rushed to hospital. He has since emerged from his worrying state of health but remains unable to move and communicate. He must also begin rehabilitation, which turns out to be particularly humiliating. Fortunately for him there is Blanche, his nurse, who surrounds him with affection. Blanche takes her case to heart.

Philippe, Didier, Georges and Edina were born on the same day. The three boys have always been in love with Edina, but she's always put them off. They set off in search of her and find her posing for a photographer. Seeing them, she flees and dies in the process. By mutual agreement, the three boys commit suicide to join her.

Kati drives the VW bus of her parents even without a license quite fast. But what else should one do in the Bavarian province? Kati and her best friend Jo keep asking themselves this question when they philosophize about God and the world with the tip in one hand and the beer in the other hand. After all, Kati's swarm Mike has just come back from the Bundeswehr, but while she dreams of the great love, he seems to take the matter far less seriously. And there's only stress with her dad.

Paul and Paula have had bad experiences with love: Paul is financially well off but has lost all affection for his wife, and Paula leads a troublesome life raising two children on her own. They meet and discover a strong passion for each other. Life seems like a dream when they're together - but their short flights from the burdens of reality are once and again interrupted by Paul's ties to family and career.

A love story about chance meetings, instant attractions, and casual betrayals. Four strangers - with one thing in common: each other.