Agnes... und seine Brüder

I just finished watching "Agnes...und seine Brüder." On the cover of the DVD there is a quote from Variety that calls it a Teutonic version of "American Beauty." There are some similarities, but mostly superficial. There are scenes in both films where someone is watching through a window, and it appears that someone inside is receiving oral sex while something else is happening. Both have a young man who aspires to be a filmmaker and a distant wife. Beyond that they may be similar in tone but neither sets out to copy the other. In This film there are three siblings who were raised by an eccentric father. One is a transsexual, one is a successful politician and one is a sex-addict and peeping tom. That is an over simplification. All three have the same Father but different Mothers. Hans-Jörg, the sex addict played by Moritz Bleibtreu, wants to deal with family issues, while Werner, the politician, wants to ignore them. Agnes is dealing with her own issues. All three of them have relationship problems. Hans-Jörg works in a library and sometimes goes into the women's restroom and masturbates while watching women shit. He often has a small bottle of liquor with him most of the time even at work. He also watches a lot of porn. He goes to a support group for sex addicts where he meets someone who films porn. It seems that he goes to these meetings to find people to be in the porn videos. Werner has difficulty with his wife and one of his sons. The son often records him in embarrassing situations with his video camera. At one point Werner is talking to a colleague on the phone and shits on a piece of paper in his office. His son records this. He tries to get his son to delete this. The son also grows pot on the grounds around the house, and his mother waters the plants. Werner is afraid these plants could hurt his career. Hans-Jörg has memories of their father molesting Agnes as a child and trying to get Hans-Jörg to play with his cock. Werner insists that these things never happened. The Father appears to be in a relationship with another man. This is a bittersweet film. there are some funny moments and moments that bring me to tears. Agnes is in an abusive relationship that ends during the film. Her health is not god, but it is not revealed the exact nature of her illness. The relationship between her and Hans-Jörg is very touching. Watching this film is very cathartic for me. I can relate to the characters.