momenta film GmbH

For a month, filmmaker Dieter Gränicher lives in an institution, in the village community of the deaf. As an attentive and increasingly familiar observer, he gets closer and closer to the village's inhabitants, who often suffer from a variety of handicaps, as they go about their daily lives. The film tells the story of the nuances and vivacity of sign language. It portrays human beings who, with great expressive power, overcome the limitations imposed on them by their disability, deeply touching the person opposite.

The film portrays people with different time consciousness. A computer scientist works non-stop. Only when she gets home can she relax. A young employee suffers from sleep disorders and stress at work, and sinks into a state of decompensation. Ski trainer Didier Plaschy looks at the effects of slowing down and speeding up. Time historian Karlheinz Geissler takes a piquantly humorous look at our fast-paced society.

In Protestant Zurich, people with money avoid flaunting it. Wealth fascinates, but it also arouses jealousy. Four wealthy Zurichers are in search of happiness: one man unexpectedly inherits a large sum of money; he tells no one about it and indulges in a luxury: he finally takes the time to live. For religious reasons, a woman from an old Zurich family renounces her possessions and inheritance. A "self-made" entrepreneur is constantly expanding his international business and living the good life. A welfare recipient relives, with mixed feelings, the days when money flowed freely. For years, he has been fighting a bank to repossess his fortune.

Two women and a man suffering from severe depression are accompanied by a camera for a year and a half. The acute phase of their depression is the starting point for this filmed account. How do they cope with their illness and their stay in hospital? How does their professional and family situation evolve after this major crisis? When do they feel cured again?