How Long Is “Summer '04”?

A middle-aged woman coming to terms with her son's sexual awakening does some extramarital exploration of her own in this downbeat drama. Miriam (Martina Gedeck) has just turned forty and is going on a seaside vacation with her husband Andre (Peter Davor) and fifteen-year-old son Nils (Lucas Kotaranin). Andre has given Niels permission to bring his girlfriend Livia (Svea Lohde) along for the trip; while Livia is soon to turn thirteen, she looks and acts several years older, and Miriam wonders if Andre has unwittingly given them carte blanche to take their relationship to the physical level, though Andre seems unconcerned. While sailing, the vacationers meet Bill (Robert Seeliger), a footloose American of German heritage who seems quite taken with Livia, and vice versa. While Miriam is quite appalled by Bill's flirtation with an underage girl, the longer she thinks about him the more she's drawn to him, and when she decides to confront Bill about what may be going on with Livia, they end up having sex. However, while Bill insists he's not interested in Livia physically, Miriam soon discovers her son's girlfriend is also a rival for her lover's affections. The second feature from director Stefan Krohmer, Summer '04 (aka Sommer '04) received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.