Chinese Roulette

Ariane and Gerhard Christ pack for the weekend, telling themselves they will travel abroad while actually staying at home. They plan to leave Angela in Traunitz's care, using the ruse to conceal their duplicity. The tense setup foreshadows the weekend's unraveling at the family residence.

Gerhard brings his longtime mistress Irene Cartis to the family's rural estate for a weekend away. The others assume a normal family getaway, unaware of the true arrangement. The stage is set for a weekend of secrets, lies, and twisted loyalties.

Gerhard returns to the living room to find Ariane with her lover Kolbe, his assistant. The moment is awkward, but the couples try to laugh it off and pretend nothing has changed. The dinner plans proceed, even as underlying tensions simmer.

The four adults share a tense dinner together and, over coffee, Gabriel reads from the philosophical book he has written. His performance reveals his pretensions and how precarious their social balance is. The room bristles with unspoken accusations beneath polite conversation.

Angela arrives with Traunitz and a small army of grotesque dolls, turning the weekend's mood on its head. Her presence sharpens the antagonism between the parents and their lovers. The bizarre spectacle signals that nothing will be simple again.

Ariane is furious with Angela's theatrics and makes a move to strike her, but Gerhard intervenes to stop the blow. The adults try to preserve propriety as Angela's behavior escalates into active provocation. The tension between control and defiance thickens the air.

Angela explains that her illness years ago triggered her parents' infidelities. She recounts that the father began his relationship with his mistress soon after, and her mother started an affair with Kolbe when doctors deemed her illness hopeless. Kast dismisses the claim as nonsense, setting up further conflict.

The next morning, Angela goes from room to room to greet her parents. She finds them naked with their respective lovers, a stark exposure of their lies. The day unsettles everyone as the truth settles in.

During the day, Angela continues to press and manipulate, attempting to pit her parents and their lovers against each other. She plays with the dynamics of power and affection, driving the family toward a breaking point. The atmosphere grows increasingly volatile as the game of control tightens.

Angela proposes a game of Chinese Roulette and partitions two teams: Gerhardt, Angela, Gabriel, Traunitz versus Ariane, Kast, Irene, Kolbe. The teams settle into the roles, and the questions begin, with the questioner and responder dynamic turning cruel. The mood grows dangerous as the game progresses.

The ultimate question concerns what the subject would have been in the Third Reich. Angela initially implies the subject is herself, while Kast suggests the subject is herself, and the others waver. Angela then contradicts this, revealing that the subject is Ariane, her own mother, heightening the tension.

Enraged, Ariane points Gerhard's pistol at Angela and shoots Traunitz. The wound is only a superficial flesh wound, leaving Traunitz alive but deeply shaken. The chaos intensifies as this act confirms the night's danger.

Angela tells Gabriel that he has plagiarized every word he has written for the last two years. The accusation crushes his pride and underscores the cruelty of the evening's games. The revelation adds another layer of personal betrayal to the gathering.

A second shot is heard in the darkened house, but the identity of the shooter and the victim is left to the viewer's imagination. The film ends on an open, unsettling note, with trust shattered and ambiguity lingering. The audience is left to ponder what the weekend truly meant for each character.