Frank Ripploh, known to his friends as Peggy, is a teacher, while Bernd Broaderup works in the cinema. They live together and share a bed, but their lives pull in opposite directions: Frank craves adventure, longing, and testing his limits, while Bernd yearns for a quieter, more domestic future—perhaps a farm away from the city’s chaos. Their partnership is defined by coexistence under one roof, even as their desires push them apart. The campus grapevine is constant and sharp, whispering about Frank’s private world: “He only has male visitors, Mr. Ripploh.”
Frank roams Berlin day and night, driving in his old Karmann, seeking connection in a city that feeds his appetite for variety. He pursues a spectrum of men—from blond to lean to rugged—finding company in bars, gay saunas, and wherever attraction leads him. A long flirtation even lands him with the gas station attendant, Peter Fahrni, and the encounters pile up in a life that feels relentlessly spontaneous. He even slips away from a hospital in a taxi to chase a moment of cruising, a stark example of how far his impulses push him from ordinary routines.
Bernd watches with growing desperation as he tries to keep Frank faithful. He cooks for him, does his laundry, and abstains from sex himself, hoping to anchor their relationship, but his efforts never quite tame Frank’s restless hunger. The tension between duty and desire thickens as their romance edges toward breaking points.
The story reaches a fever pitch at a Berlin drag ball. Bernd attends as a sailor, while Frank appears as an Arabian dancer in tulle, a vivid visual of their diverging paths. The event crystallizes the possibility of a life apart: Bernd imagines a shepherd’s quiet in the country, while Frank is drawn deeper into the city’s electric, risk-loving pulse. Later, Frank returns to his school in costume, urging his students to choose a challenge for themselves, a moment that mirrors the couple’s own crossroads and the chaos that follows.
Chaos erupts as the old routines unravel, forcing Frank to confront a trio of stark options: return to Bernd and rebuild what they had, contemplate suicide, or press on as a single man in a city that never stops asking questions. The film presents a candid, unflinching look at love, loyalty, and the costs of living open life in a society that still grapples with judgment and desire.
> He only has male visitors, Mr. Ripploh.
