I do not think it was all that obvious, and the fact that it is a Europeen film, not Hollywood, prevents it from falling into all the cliché cracks Hollywood has a tendency of falling into when the script is just so-so. I am not so hung up on corporate stuff - big offices with shiny surfaces leaves me somewhat cold - what I liked about the film was the lovestory between the women. I thought it nice and - maybe humdrum - but believable. The other pluss point was that the two ladies where way out of their teens and nice looking. And they where not afraid of their own feelings. Sexuality does not stop at 30. Thanks for that. If you want to chill out a couple of hours and want to see a lesbian-oriented film - this could well be the one.

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I don't agree with Jan (from The Netherlands!): this film is a very powerful, moving and tender – lesbian - love story! The story is told in a way that makes it very believable. The movie shows the emotions and doubts that are unavoidable when a woman – after some 15 years of marriage – falls in love with another woman and . . . decides to act upon! The husband – quite a nice guy actually – can't cope with it; so he forces his wife to make a choice. Now until a decade ago, the wife would still have . . . gone back to the husband! But those days are over: nowadays she chooses the girlfriend . . YES! Well . . this movie is maybe/definitely not really a 'guy thing' but if you are a women – especially a lesbian women! – watch this movie and you won't be disappointed!

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Nice idea to switch within a standard format the male to female parts but this does not prevent the film from being further unsurprising. Moreover, while in the first half there is plenty story to be entertained, also due to the cast, it soon more or less collapses with a number of meaningless scenes: another love scene, another outing etc. The final scene can not save the tedium that has been building up in the meantime. The next time the makers want to do something different, they should think of something new.

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'Die Konkurrentin' (which means 'The Competitor') is a German small screen film from 1997, so this one has its 20th anniversary this year. It is directed by two women fittingly with the subject and Hirtz' directing as well as Stieler's writing credits go back to the 80 while Hirtz was a prolific and successful editor way before that already. Their collaboration here runs for slightly under 1.5 hours and tells the story of a successful businesswoman whose life spirals out of control when she falls for a new colleague that is an openly gay female and the married protagonist has never had a romantic relationship with women before. I must admit that I am not familiar with lead actress Schwab at all, probably because I never watched Alarm für Cobra 11. Anyway, Kramer who plays her love interest is more known, even if I would not really call her a great actress either. And the two Haußmanns of course.
It is a bit of a pity that today this film is nothing else considered anymore than a lesbian movie and even if this is a key plot of course, there are 2-3 other components that deserve a mention, maybe the business intrigue (okay that one wasn't too great or realistic), maybe the main character's connection to this being a family drama with what happens when she reinvents herself sexually. Anyway, the film had some good moments here and there, but as a whole something is missing to let me recommend it. It is truly mediocre from a lot of perspectives: acting, writing, relevance etc. It's not a failure, but there is also nothing remotely memorable to see in these slightly under 90 minutes and that's why I give it a thumbs-down. I also felt that things are rushed unrealistically at the end towards a forced happy ending like all the conflicts disappearing magically so quickly, especially those with the kids. Yeah it just isn't good enough. Watch something else instead.

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