Two worlds collide
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A few days before her wedding, the perfectionist Sandra Giesinger (Klara Lange) finds out that her recently deceased father had a secret second family for years. Her new sister Sandy (Cosima Henman) immediately seeks her closeness and quickly plunges the family into chaos…
This is not how the perfectionist Sandra Giesinger (Klara Lange) imagined her dream wedding with Justus Maiwald (Yannik Heckmann): the cake topper looks like it was made by a five-year-old child, her maid of honor canceled shortly beforehand, and then her father Gerd (Stefan Gebelhoff) ends up dead and face first in the cake at the wedding rehearsal. However, the biggest shock awaits the future bride and her mother Monika Giesinger (Andrea Sawatzki) at the funeral: Because Gerd Giesinger had a secret second family for years… “Suddenly Sister” (director: Tine Rogoll, writer: Svenja Zwillingsen) is a turbulent comedy that will be available on zdf.de from Monday, July 13th.
Two families, two realities
Sandra’s chubby, warm-hearted half-sister Sandy Koslowski (Cosima Henman) doesn’t fit into the Giesingers’ chic family image at all. Her esoteric mother Gabi Koslowski (Anita Vulesica) also has little trouble scaring away her rival Monika. For that she probably wouldn’t have had to steal Gerd’s ashes from the urn before the burial. “I’ve shared it for so long, I want to have it for myself once in my life,” she explains to her stunned daughter when she discovers the Tupperware container (“There was a tuna fish sandwich in there before”).
Finally, there is Gerd’s missing will with unknown contents. Since Gabi fears that Monika could rip her off, she and Sandy move into the old camper in the garden to blackmail Monika. Meanwhile, Sandy senses the chance of a lifetime to finally get closer to her half-sister: When she hears that Sandra is looking for a maid of honor, she is there immediately and soon causes chaos…
Familiar and predictable, but well played
The basic idea of “Suddenly Sister” is anything but new: not least in the thriller genre, the subject of the secret second family often serves as a starting point for (murderous) psychological games. The fact that in this case we are dealing with two completely opposite families from different social classes, with neither of the two sisters seeming to have any idea of the actual lives of the others, makes the result somewhat clichéd in places and also somewhat predictable. Well-written dialogues and strong acting largely make up for this.
Cosima Henman is particularly convincing. The 29-year-old actress also knows the advantages and disadvantages of patchwork families from her own life: “In the past, many couples stayed together because of the children or for social reasons,” she explains in the interview: “However, it always has to be checked on a case-by-case basis to see what is actually better for the child: whether the parents stay together or not.”
She herself found growing up in a patchwork family to be positive: “This also resulted in new additions to the family, which was also nice. As is often the case, there are advantages and disadvantages here. Basically, you should approach these family models with openness and give them a chance. Ultimately, however, every situation is different and everyone has to find their own way.” The crucial thing, the actress continues, is “that people respect each other and are willing to work on their relationship with one another – regardless of what gender roles exist.” (This article was created in cooperation with teleschau.)