AllMovie

This documentary chronicles the breakdown of a middle-class Swiss family. Armin is 61 years old and though he was recently released from the company for which he worked for many years, he optimistically starts up a printing business in his basement. Unfortunately, running the business is more than a full-time job and causes many problems. His wife Marlies finds the home environment so upsetting that she joins a religious community in hopes of restoring some sense of spirituality to her empty life. The couple's 30-year-old son Markus does not help their situation. Like his late older brother before him, he is seriously addicted to drugs. Despite the turmoil around him, Armin maintains an incongruously optimistic outlook regarding the family's future.