When a journalist wants to get back at the owner of a heartbreak agency for advising his girlfriend to break up with him, he writes an article against her. The article results in Karl losing his job! He, however, reluctantly takes a session with the therapist, Maria, to understand her theories on heartbreak, which would help him get his job back. Directed by Shirel Peleg, the German film The Heartbreak Agency is sure to steal our attention with a storyline that is out of the box. Will Maria help Karl realize the reasons behind his inability to love someone with all his heart? Will Karl and Maria develop feelings for each other in the process? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Karl Lose His Job?
Karl, an overconfident journalist, wrote a sexist article on the Heartbreak Agency after his girlfriend broke up with him. Before writing the article, he had gone to meet Maria Geiger (owner of the agency) in order to interview her about her views on heartbreaks. She told him that she had opened the agency after she had suffered a massive heartbreak. Karl, however, tried to counter her points with more rational thoughts, pinpointing the fact that people did not need therapists to heal after heartbreaks.
Karl wrote a very misogynist article against Maria, making her look like a money-minded businessman who fed off of people’s vulnerabilities after their breakups. Karl’s personal grudge against Maria for helping his girlfriend move away from him fueled his purpose further. The article, however, resulted in Karl losing his job, as his boss did not want to mess with public wrath after Karl had posted such a chauvinist article on the internet. Later, while Karl was finally leaving his office, Maria came to his office and told his boss that Karl had stolen an item from her office. She said that he had taken a toy car from a box where her clients dropped their objects of attachment. Maria’s complaint further tarnished his reputation in the office, and he explained himself, saying that the car was a gift from him to his ex-girlfriend, which is why he had taken it away.
What Did Karl Do To Get His Job Back?
After being fired, Karl started hunting for jobs. Being unable to find any jobs immediately, he went back to his agency and requested that his boss give him his job back. He was, however, given the condition that he had to write a proper article on heartbreaks that would help him recover his own image as a columnist. He decided to go on a retreat with the Heartbreak Agency to get a clearer view of heartbreaks. He went to the retreat and came across heartbroken people and took their insights on heartbreaks. Karl would also attend the group sessions where people would talk about episodes of their relationship or breakups. He, however, tried to counsel people there, saying that they shouldn’t be in a hurry to get too attached to someone and should enjoy their singlehood. He started getting along with the people there and also advised them that casual sex was the best option for people trying to move on. His unsolicited advice to her clients was, however, not appreciated by Maria. She asked Karl not to advise her clients and to tell them otherwise. Karl, however, reverted, saying that he believed people did not need therapists to get over their heartbroken states.
How Did Maria And Karl Grow Feelings For Each Other?
Karl had been egging Turgay on to stop him from letting his girlfriend get married, while Maria insisted on the opposite. Maria told Karl that they had to stop Turgay, and they eventually went to the church to stop him from causing a scene at the wedding. Turgay caused a scene at the wedding anyway and tried to stop Timea from getting married. This event resulted in Maria, Karl, and Turgay ending up behind bars. Later, Karl’s mother came in and bailed them out. When she invited Karl and Maria to go to her house for dinner, they agreed.
When Maria was going through Karl’s things in his room, she found love letters and a ring. Karl told her that he was in love with a girl, but she had given up on their relationship to explore her life further. Maria also shared her story with Karl, stating that she had a child with her ex-boyfriend, but he had abandoned them for the sake of his career. They seemed to form a bond as they opened up and talked about their past relationships. They felt an immediate spark, and they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. They started meeting often and getting intimate, which eventually resulted in both catching feelings for each other. Karl’s viewpoint on love slowly started to change as he spent more time with Maria. He even made an effort to spend more time with Maria’s daughter, teaching her how to skate to impress a boy that she liked. Karl had finally started putting in the kind of effort for someone that he never thought he would be capable of. The concept of true love slowly dawned on him.
Why Did Karl Ghost Maria?
Karl decided to propose to Maria, and just when he was at her doorstep, he saw that Maria’s ex-boyfriend, Olaf, had come back. He thought that now that Olaf was back, Maria would no longer be interested in him, making him retrace his steps. Olaf had come back just to spend some time with his daughter and move into an apartment that was closer to Maria’s house so that he could meet them often. Karl had, however, mistaken Olaf’s fatherly love for Heidi for his rekindled love interest in Maria. Karl stopped contacting Maria, and she couldn’t decipher why Karl had ghosted her. Ironically, the person who herself had been crafting ways to mend people’s hearts was unable to process her feelings after Karl had left.
Were Maria And Karl Able To Express Their Feelings?
Karl was heartbroken and had finally started to realize the importance of a therapist when it comes to broken hearts! He wrote an article on breakups and how they take away a huge part of one’s existence, making them feel dejected. The article was able to fetch him back his job, but not the love of his life, Maria. Karl, however, later realized that communication was the key to clearing out the thoughts that were clouding his mind. When he reached Maria’s office, he saw that Timea was attacking Maria after Turgay had finally left her. He realized how much people despised Maria just for letting people mend their broken hearts through her advice! He tried to protect Maria and took Timea’s blows to himself, causing him to black out. When he woke up, he confessed his feelings to Maria, and she reciprocated, saying that she felt the same way.
Final Thoughts
It is truly strange how love has finally bound the hearts of two people with completely different mindsets! The law of attraction in physics says ‘opposites attract,’ which is true to a certain extent in the case of Maria and Karl. One had a staunch rational mind when it came to heartbreaks, while the other was a professional at providing emotional assistance to people with broken hearts. The movie The Heartbreak Agency has been beautifully executed through a wonderful screenplay, efficiently enacted by Laurence Rupp and Rosalie Thomass. It has a crisp storyline, cutting out all the overdramatic sentimental elements that we usually get to see in mainstream romantic films. The charm that the film has cast is something that would surely leave an impact on us, much like unconventional love stories such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Fault in Our Stars.
