Like Rabbits (2002) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A comic relationship drama about sexual dissatisfaction, public judgment, and the release that comes from acknowledging shared human behavior.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Film in the Trash

Horst's unsatisfactory relationship collapses after a pornographic film is found in the trash. The separation creates space for new sexual perspectives and encounters.

Key Events

• Troubled Relationship — Horst's relationship is described as stressful and unsatisfactory. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's home
• Pornographic Film Found — A pornographic film is found in the trash. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's home
• Relationship Breakup — Horst's girlfriend leaves him after finding the film. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's home
• New Domestic Arrangement — The former couple begins living separately. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's home

New Appetites

Horst receives a more relaxed perspective on his sex drive and begins an affair with Kriemhild. Meanwhile, the failed dinner deepens the emotional damage surrounding his former relationship.

Key Events

• A New Perspective — Horst is introduced to a more relaxed view of his sex drive. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's apartment building
• Soprano Affair Begins — Horst begins an affair with the visiting soprano. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Kriemhild Nastrowa Location: Orchestra setting
• Failed Seduction Dinner — An attempted seduction over dinner fails miserably. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Dinner setting
• Xanthippe Article — Gudrun helps publish an article portraying Horst as an offender. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Gudrun Location: Xanthippe magazine office

Humiliation Goes Public

An article in Xanthippe presents Horst as an inconsiderate offender. The conflict erupts at a flat party, while Kriemhild ends her exhausting affair with him.

Key Events

• Xanthippe Article — Gudrun helps publish an article portraying Horst as an offender. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Gudrun Location: Xanthippe magazine office
• Flat Party Begins — A flat party brings the relationship conflict into a social setting. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's and Siggi's flat
• Party Confrontation — Horst makes a crude attempt to lessen the humiliation, and is kicked in the groin. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's and Siggi's flat
• Affair Comes Apart — Kriemhild ends the affair, leaving Horst partly relieved. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Kriemhild Nastrowa Location: Unspecified
• Kriemhild Changes Course — Kriemhild marries the orchestra's geriatric conductor and receives a Scala job. Characters: Kriemhild Nastrowa Location: Orchestra setting

The Television Trap

Horst's passion for Kelly Trump leads to an involuntary appearance on Catch Your Dreams. The program exposes him publicly and turns private relationship grievances into television spectacle.

Key Events

• Unstable Partnership — Hubert's unstable romantic life leads to an affair with Benno. Characters: Hubert, Benno Location: Unspecified
• Porn Star Admiration — Horst admits his passion for porn star Kelly Trump. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Horst's and Siggi's flat
• Talk Show Enrollment — Horst is signed up without his knowledge for Catch Your Dreams. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Television studio
• Public Exposure — Horst is publicly exposed as addicted to pornography on television. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Gudrun Location: Television studio
• Editors Enter Debate — The host pits the guests against one another during the live discussion. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg, Gudrun Location: Television studio

Everyone Stands

The former girlfriend enters the studio to correct the distorted story. Horst challenges the audience, and the public confrontation ends with mutual peace and recognition that the relationship had no real basis.

Key Events

• Vera Challenges Broadcast — The former girlfriend arrives to challenge the distorted account of the relationship. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Television studio
• Audience Stands Together — Horst asks everyone who has seen a porn movie to stand, and the room eventually rises. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Television studio
• Relationship Reconciliation — Horst and his former girlfriend make peace and acknowledge their relationship lacked a real basis. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Television studio
• Separate Departures — The former girlfriend leaves with Kelly while Horst and Siggi go home contemplating. Characters: Horst Bömmelburg Location: Pub and home

Story Breakdown

• Troubled Domestic Life — Horst's relationship begins under emotional and sexual strain before a discovered film triggers separation.
  • Unsatisfactory Relationship — Horst's relationship is described as stressful and unsatisfactory in every aspect.
  • Film Triggers Breakup — A pornographic film found in the trash leads to the breakup.
• New Sexual Perspectives — After the separation, Horst encounters a more relaxed view of sexuality and starts a new affair.
  • Relaxed Sex Drive — Horst is introduced to a less restrictive perspective on his sexual desires.
  • Soprano Affair — Horst begins an affair with Kriemhild Nastrowa during her guest appearance with his orchestra.
• Failed Intimacy — An attempted reconciliation through seduction fails and intensifies the former couple's humiliation and resentment.
  • Dinner Goes Wrong — An attempt to seduce Horst over dinner fails miserably.
  • Party Retaliation — Horst's crude comment at the flat party is answered with a kick in the groin.
• Public Moral Judgment — The private conflict is transformed into a public accusation through the Xanthippe article.
  • Magazine Condemnation — Gudrun helps publish an article portraying Horst as an inconsiderate offender.
  • Distorted Narrative — The relationship is presented publicly through a one-sided interpretation.
• Television Exposure — Horst is unknowingly placed in a live talk-show confrontation centered on pornography and relationship conflict.
  • Secret Enrollment — Horst is signed up as a guest on Catch Your Dreams without knowing the plan.
  • Pornography Debate — The host exposes Horst and encourages the guests to turn against one another.
• Collective Admission — The studio confrontation shifts from personal shame toward a shared acknowledgment of ordinary human behavior.
  • Former Partners Clash — The former girlfriend enters the studio to challenge the televised version of their relationship.
  • Audience Stands — Horst asks viewers of pornographic films to stand, and eventually the entire room does so.
• Peaceful Separation — The central relationship is resolved through acceptance rather than reunion.
  • Mutual Peace — Horst and his former girlfriend make peace after recognizing the relationship's lack of foundation.
  • Separate Futures — They leave separately, with each moving toward a different social and emotional space.

Directed by

Sven Unterwaldt

Key Cast

• Michael Lott — Horst Bömmelburg
• Sven Walser — Siegfried Purzmann
• Anna Böttcher — Vera Malkowski
• Heinrich Schmieder — Hubert
• Heinrich Schafmeister — Günther Bienentreu