»Ruth R. is a 42-year-old woman. I got to know her years ago when I came to Berlin. She was a neighbour whom I rarely saw but her children Carmen and Tito played in the yard every day. The two were very shy, especially Carmen who, with her exotic appearance, was something special at a time when there were only a few Turkish workers here. The kids had a Puerto Rican father, a professional soldier who lived with Ruth for three years.
About a year ago now, I was struck by how much Carmen had changed. Her body, which used to be slender, had become huge. But her mouth had not grown apace and, set in her face with big eyes, it looked small, a sign perhaps of her reserved nature and inarticulacy. So I came up with the idea of making a film with Carmen, about her everyday life and her dreams. She was now almost 16 years old.
(…)
When she was 16, Ruth had wanted to emigrate. She was working on an assembly line in a button factory. While out dancing, she met Roberto from Puerto Rico. He promised to show her the world but left her after she had had the two children, without a word. All he left behind were postcards and a record of Hawaiian music. Nowadays, Ruth works as a cleaner.
(…)
Carmen dreams of a country with a lot of sun.
Carmen sits in her room.
Tito sits in his room.
The mother has no room.
(…)
The problem of not having problems because you are not aware of them while somehow being hurt by them in an indefinite way, that’s the central point of the film.«

– Elfie Mikesch

Film programme Always Together