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Rough Road Ahead

Von jetzt an kein Zurück

Directed by Christian Frosch

Trailer

In 1968, Martin and Ruby flee the countryside and a destructive family. Nine years later, they are fighting for love, dignity—and against pain.

Synopsis

West Germany, 1967: Martin and Ruby fall in love. They want to break out of their respective lives and follow their ideals. Martin wants to become a writer, Ruby a singer. They meet secretly because Ruby's father is a strict Catholic. For him, Martin embodies everything that is bad. The two decide to run away to Berlin. However, the plan fails and Ruby is sent to a convent, while Martin is placed in the Diakonie Freistatt reformatory. Nine years later, the two meet again. Martin has spent some time in prison and has become a latently violent man. Ruby is a more or less successful singer, but she repeatedly resorts to alcohol and pills and suffers from an eating disorder as a result of the educational measures in the convent. Martin and Ruby are still connected by love. Shortly before a performance, Ruby is finally caught up by her past. ROUGH ROAD AHEAD (VON JETZT AN KEIN ZURÜCK) is a work by Christian Frosch that reconstructs the historical background with great accuracy while telling a universal story about oppression and self-determination. With intense imagery that conveys both intimacy and harshness, Frosch creates a drama that shines a light deep into post-war German society. The actors embody their characters with raw authenticity and make it clear how youthful longing turns into an existential struggle for survival. ROUGH ROAD AHEAD (VON JETZT AN KEIN ZURÜCK) celebrated its premiere in 2014 at the Montreal World Film Festival, where it won the award for best screenplay. At the Diagonale, Frosch's film won the audience award and the award for best editing. At the Austrian Film Awards, the film won the award for best screenplay.

Festivals & Awards

Genres
Drama
Duration (min)
Year
Country
Austria, Germany
Rating
16+
Audio
German
Subtitles
English, Swedish, French