Die Brüder Kipp (Joachim Król) und Most (Horst Krause) machen sich auf den Weg, um das Gut ihrer Oma zu erben. Auf diesem Weg begegnen sie Viktor (Konstantin Kotljarov), einem desertierten russischen Soldaten, der die beiden kidnappt und Nadine (Sophie Rois), die sich ihnen freiwillig anschließt. Zwischendurch gibt es noch einen Zusammenstoß mit Straßenrowdies, was diesen allerdings nicht gerade gut bekommt. Auf ihrem Weg zum Erbe (oder was davon übrig bleibt) geraten die Protagonisten in manche scheinbar ausweglose Situation.

Kalli, a young girl with a strong character, works in a retirement home with Christel, a transsexual who animates dancing teas. On New Year's Eve, they meet Norman. As Christel tries an approach, he seems to be interested in Kalli .

Film by Ulrich Thein.

Karl Erp is a middle-aged man with two children and a boring marriage. After starting an exciting affair with his intern, Miss Broder, he leaves his loveless marriage and moves in with his lover. Under pressure from Miss Broder’s mother, Karl once again promises marriage. He finds, however, that the excitement that drew him to her in the first place doesn’t carry over into their daily lives.

Kasper Mai, an export merchant and comrade with a “clean” record, discovers he is the prince of Hohenlohe-Liebenstein. His royal grandmother designates him as the heir to her estate. A private trip to her reveals that she does not want a NATO airbase built on her land. The GDR and his grandmother thus find a common interest, and a clever lawyer from the East works against other family members looking to settle their debts with the estate money.

Hoffi is starting fresh after his release from prison. He travels with his brother to different construction sites in search of Urban, an acquaintance and role model he met during a brief hospital stay. Along the way, Hoffi meets Gila, who sees beyond his past in prison. Despite disapproval from her family, Gila decides to build a relationship and future with Hoffi, but Hoffi initially hesitates at this responsibility. It takes the encouragement of his workers’ brigade for Hoffi to realize his mistake and give his relationship with Gila a chance.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was the author of Werther, the romantic novel that was transformed into a play during Goethe's lifetime and which initiated the whole German romantic movement. The book's story tells of young love and suicide. In this East German film, based on a book by Thomas Mann, Lotte (Lilli Palmer) was the woman who served as the model for the heroine in the novel Werther. She comes to Goethe's hometown for a visit, and her experiences there eerily re-create episodes from the book. Goethe comes across as a pompous old bore, and his friends as pandering sycophants, in this very proper communist party-sponsored, anti-heroic movie.

Poland's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1973