The Pursuit of Unhappiness

The Pursuit of Unhappiness

Gourmet shop owner Tiffany Blechschmid is a true expert at making herself unhappy. But thanks to several turbulent encounters with the male species and frequent visits from her deceased mother she learns that being happy is not half as hard as she had imagined.

Based on the eponymous best-selling book by Paul Watzlawick, this wistful and moving, light and breezy romantic comedy is full of melancholic nuances and combines images of gentle fantasy with surprising humor. Director-scriptwriter Sherry Hormann ("Desert Flower", "Father's Day") has recruited a top-notch ensemble for her latest exploration of how we manage to turn ourselves into our own worst enemies: In the lead role of Tiffany, Johanna Wokalek ("Pope Joan", "The Baader Meinhof Complex") is supported by Iris Berben ("Buddenbrooks") and David Kross ("The Reader", "War Horse").

Tiffany Blechschmid is a neurotic, moody, superstitious, contradictory and - no surprises here - single young woman in her late 20s. Although she sells fortune cookies in her Berlin gourmet shop, she has a great personal mistrust of good fortune, and especially of happiness. It seems like every hard-won moment of happiness is followed by some kind of disaster. It's enough to make her question the whole concept of happiness. Why is everyone so determined to find it? Does it always have something to do with love? And why do we always mess up just when we're getting close to it, like when the man of Tiffany's dreams suddenly appears in the flesh? Fortunately, she can rely on helpful maternal advice from beyond the grave, stripping stewardesses, hovering grand pianos, dogs with character... In many magical moments, Tiffany learns that life is much more wonderful than she'd ever feared!