Szenen keiner Ehe

When a long relationship becomes literature. First married, then divorced. Now traveling together. Here are the notes from Marie Theres Relin and Franz Xaver Kroetz: Scenes from a Marriage. Franz Xaver Kroetz wishes to spend a few weeks in Tenerife with his ex-wife, where they lived together for a long time. Marie Theres Relin agrees. They decide that both will separately write down what comes to mind during these two months. Scarred wounds begin to itch again, old affection awakens. She struggles with setbacks as an actress and has existential worries, while he grapples with aging and his role as a playwright, yet manages to develop a magnificent character: "I." It has been a long time since anyone has thought and written about the couple's relationship so intensely, so hauntingly, and so entertainingly. We do not know what will happen next with the two of them, but the texts remain forever intertwined. She: At first, he complained a bit, but in the end, he was happy. If I had kept my composure more often during the marriage, we would have saved ourselves some stress. He: The ex was the engine of the family. What was the ultimate liberation for her 16 years ago was for me a sudden life without an engine. Now she is the engine again, steering me in such a way that I completely forget that I am actually very unhappy.