Max Max Hubacher is an orphan whose one true passion is playing the accordion. He is sent to the Bosigers' farm, where he meets Berteli Lisa Brand, another foster child. Although they are fed and sent to school, Max and Berteli are treated more like servants than family. Berteli is distressed by being separated from her mother, and at first Mrs. Bosiger Katja Riemann shows tenderness by offering chocolate when she cries at the dinner table. Max is cautious at first, but his affection for Berteli grows over time.
Max keeps a beloved pet rabbit, a detail that becomes painfully connected to a cruel moment. Berteli innocently tells Jakob Maximilian Simonischek, the Bosigers' son, about the rabbit, and he coldly kills it and brings the meat for Mrs. Bosiger to cook. When he later blurts out at the table that it was Max's rabbit, Max rushes outside and vomits, deeply unsettled by the violence and the way their world normalizes cruelty.
At school, Max and Berteli's teacher Miss Sigrist Rebekka Burckhardt takes a special interest in Max and encourages him to perform on Schwingen Day, a community event that brings the family together for an evening out. The night turns sour when Jakob makes sexual advances toward Miss Sigrist, prompting Max to intervene and defend her by beating Jakob. Jakob's retaliation comes quickly, as he burns Max's accordion, a brutal act that underscored how fragile safety can be for the two children. The situation deteriorates further as Berteli endures nightly visits from Jakob, who assaults her, forcing Berteli to confront the brutal reality of her abuse.
Berteli longs to return to her mother, who cannot look after her but pleads with the man she is living with to keep Berteli with her. He refuses, and Berteli, sensing her mother's dilemma, chooses to stay with the Bosigers rather than leave. The mounting horror pushes Max to propose a drastic plan: they should flee to Argentina so he can pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. Miss Sigrist tries to intervene again and goes to the authorities to expose the abuse, an effort that comes at a cost. Berteli becomes pregnant, and Max, shaken, confides in Miss Sigrist about Jakob's actions.
Miss Sigrist visits the farm and tells Mrs. Bosiger that Jakob has been having sex with Berteli. Mrs. Bosiger erupts in anger and ejects Miss Sigrist from the house. Undeterred, Miss Sigrist—who has now lost her job for speaking up—leaves behind a last gesture of hope: she gives Max a brand-new accordion. Mrs. Bosiger later sees Berteli vomiting and learns from Berteli that the illness is tied to Jakob's abuse. She initially tries to dismiss the claim, but confronts Jakob when pressed.
A darker turn follows as Mrs. Bosiger forces Berteli to drink castor oil in an attempted abortion, a nightmarish scene that Max hears in the darkness as Berteli screams. A heavily intoxicated Mr. Bosiger prevents Max from reaching Berteli and makes him play the accordion to drown out the screams. After Berteli's contractions stop, Max visits her to find the blood-stained sheets, a chilling reminder of what has happened.
The plan to run away to Argentina remains, but Berteli dies under circumstances that leave it unclear whether she took her own life or died from infection. The authorities begin to investigate, and Mrs. Bosiger and Jakob claim Berteli's death was a suicide. When the Reverend begins to pray over Berteli's body, Max shouts the truth about what happened. Mr. Bosiger shows the authorities the bottle of castor oil used on Berteli, a damning piece of evidence that prompts a broader inquiry into the foster-system abuses.
Max ultimately escapes to Argentina, where he finds work on a ship and continues to play his accordion, earning a living and honoring Berteli in his own way. He narrates, as though speaking to her, about his earnings, meals, and the fact that he is no longer beaten. He explains that he will continue to communicate with Berteli through his music, imagining that she rests with her father and even his lost rabbit in a heaven of shared memories. The final scene follows an older Max playing before an audience, signaling that he did reach Argentina and fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the musician he always imagined.
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