River Lines tells the story of three people, three fates – and twelve early-summer days on the Elbe that change everything.
Margrit, 102 years old and living in a retirement home in Hamburg by the river Elbe, struggles to hold on to her memories. She looks back on her childhood with her single mother, who was in a secret relationship with the exceptional gardener Else Hoffa, her training as a vocal and breathwork coach, her marriage and affairs. In the knowledge that her remaining time is very short, she has a relaxed and cheerful view of life and deals pragmatically with the demands of old age.
Her granddaughter Luzie is 18 and has dropped out of school after a sexual assault. She moves into a hut on the Elbe and prepares to become a tattoo artist by tattooing Margrit's life story onto her skin, thereby connecting generations and finding solace in the process.
Arthur, a young man who invents languages for computer games and helps out as a driver in a retirement home, mourns the loss of his twin brother, who went missing after a dive together.
Through Margrit, Luzie's and Arthur's paths cross at the retirement home and gradually a quiet friendship develops between them. They learn to trust each other and to deal with their traumas. And maybe friendship can become something more?
