Two sisters, both dedicated to
women's civil rights, fight for it in very different ways. The story is interspersed with flashbacks into the sisters' childhood. Juliane works as a feminist journalist campaigning for a woman's right to
abortion while Marianne commits herself to a violent revolutionary
terrorist group. The film quickly informs us that Marianne has abandoned her husband and child. Her husband arrives at Juliane's house and states that she must take Jan (their son) because he has to leave the country for work. Juliane is not supportive of her sister's choices because she feels that they are damaging to the
women's movement and informs the husband that she does not have time to care for the child. The husband steps out to "go get something", promising to return, but instead
takes his life, leaving Jan without a guardian. Marianne meets with Juliane to discuss her political views with her sister and urge her to join the movement. Juliane informs her of her husband's suicide and of her intention to find a foster home for Jan. Marianne asks her sister to watch over Jan but Juliane replies "You would have me take on the life that you chose to leave", basically stating "so what's not good enough for you is good enough for me". Juliane's refusal does not stop Marianne from continuing in the movement. She is content to commit Jan to foster care because she believes that "any life he has in foster care will be better than the life many children have in third world countries." The sisters' paths continue to cross as Marianne regularly bursts in unannounced to her sister's life. On one occasion, Marianne wakes her and her long-term boyfriend up at 3 a.m., makes coffee for two of her comrades and goes through Juliane's clothes for anything she might like. Soon afterward, it is discovered that Marianne has been arrested and is being held in a high security
prison. Juliane goes to visit her sister. When she arrives she is
searched and, after being left in the waiting room, the guard returns and informs her that Marianne refuses to see her. Juliane goes home agonizing over her inability to communicate with her sister and see how she is doing. Her boyfriend suggests that she write to her sister telling her how she feels. The film goes into a flashback of their childhood where we see the closeness of the sisters. Juliane mails the letter and soon after is able to visit her sister. They argue often but Juliane continues to visit her sister. Following a bad argument when Marianne slaps her sister, Marianne is moved to a
maximum-security prison where the two are separated by a pane of glass and can only communicate through an
intercom. Juliane becomes so obsessed with her sister and her problems that her own relationships begin to fall apart. Her boyfriend suggests that they take a vacation. While on vacation they see a photo of Marianne on TV but cannot understand what has happened to her because of the
language barrier. Juliane runs back to their hotel and calls her parents to find that Marianne has "committed suicide" which Juliane and her father do not accept. Juliane begins an obsessive journey to discover what really happened. This destroys her relationship with her boyfriend of ten years. She ultimately proves to herself that Marianne was murdered but, when she calls the papers with her insights, she is informed that her sister's death is "old news" and nobody cares if it was murder or suicide. Juliane is left with the knowledge but cannot convince the papers to defend the name of a dead terrorist. Later, Juliane is reunited with Jan because someone attempted to murder him by arson when they found out who his mother was. Juliane takes him back home with her after he had undergone extensive
reconstructive surgery. He is aloof and has no interest in having a relationship with his aunt. He has
nightmares of the fire that nearly killed him. The film ends with him walking into Juliane's workroom and tearing up the picture of his mother that is on the wall. Juliane tells him "you are wrong, Jan. Your mother was a great woman. I'll tell you about her". Jan says that he wants to know everything and then yells "Start now! Start now!" The film fades out on Juliane's face looking at him. ==Cast==