Unheil in den Bergen

Radical deforestation of the alpine forests makes nature go awry ever more: land slides, rock slides and floods take everything with them which is in their way and threaten the ecological balance in the alps.
Toni Sterzinger has always fought for the sustainable cultivation of his woodlands. Even if things are financially anything but rosy for the farm he runs together with his wife Theresa, son Valentin and aunt Luise, selling the woods is not an option, particularly not to his father Max, owner of the local saw mill. Theresa reproaches her husband for being so stubborn. They have a fight. Toni leaves the farm in a rage and doesn't return.
In that night, a severe storm breaks which destroys the bridge between the woodlands of Toni and that of his father. Mud and debris everywhere. Toni can not be found and even weeks after that baleful night, Theresa, Valentin, and Luise haver between two truths: Did Toni leave his family after his fight with Theresa or was he taken by the massive avalanche?
Max tries to convince Theresa that his son left her and wants to abuse her weakened position to obtain Toni's woodland. He needs Toni's woodland to fulfil a contract with an important customer, otherwise he is faced with a penality for non-fulfilment. He even gets his general manager, Georg Zübert, who has always had strong feelings for Theresa, to try and talk her into the sale. However, Theresa fears that the irresponsible deforestation of her father-in-law have caused just that landslide. She does not want to sell out her Toni. She doesn't want to sell under any circumstances!
To stop Max from transporting away the trees, Theresa one night burns down the newly rebuilt bridge. So Max has a provisional bridge built with layered pipes so that the wood can be transported and thus risks a flood, also due to the imminent snow melt, which would have devastating consequences for the entire village. During the progressive deforestation works, which take on ever more drastic forms, Toni's body is found which was indeed buried beneath the landslide.
An imminent storm meanwhile threatens to heighten the level of the river even further. Theresa starts a last attempt to convince Georg to stop Max. Georg realises in the last second which side he has to be on to prevent the imminent desaster. And so Theresa and Georg decide to blow up the bridge themselves...

The acting is convincing; none better than that of 70-year-old Günther Maria Halmer in the role of the “timber mafia godfather”.
RHEINISCHE POST

Eco-drama that’s worth watching
THÜRINGER ALLGEMEINE

Tip of the day
WELT KOMPAKT

A homeland film with an environmental message
BERLINER MORGENPOST

Initial broadcast
2013/09/02
Runtime
90
Cast
Brigitte Hobmeier, Marcus Mittermeier, Günther Maria Halmer, Tim Bergmann, Samuel Jung, Gundi Ellert-Baumbauer uvm.
Director
Dirk Regel
Redaktion
Günther van Endert (ZDF)
Writer
Claudia Kaufmann (nach einer Idee von Frank Dommel)
Producers
Uli Aselmann
Casting
Nessie Nesslauer
Director of Photography
Philipp Timme
Editing
Anke Berthold
Production Design
Patrick St. Müller
Costume Design
Bettina C. Proske
Hair and Make-Up
Scharka Cechova, Kirsten Rottner