The Path - Dunkle Pfade

Raúl (35), in a desperate attempt to recoup his marriage to Ana (30), suggests spending Christmas in an isolated cabin on the mountains, along with their son, Nico (7). Then, Samuel (29) turns up, a handsome carpenter in charge of repairing some flaws. Ana and Nico feel affection for him, what makes Raúl extremely jealous, an old feeling he thought to have overcome. He tries to dispel the intruder but finds out, with increasing anguish, that Ana and the carpenter meet on their own and seem to share a secret. He decides to invite Samuel to Christmas Eve's dinner, trying to demonstrate their affair, but the evening goes by trouble-free. That night, Raúl has a nightmare where he sees his family related to a bloody episode. He wakes up, relieved, to discover Ana's innocence and that her stealthy meetings with Samuel were due to a gift she wanted to surprise him with. Raúl thinks it is the perfect time to make it up. Ana agrees. But something seems to be wrong: while going over the holiday photographs, Raúl notices that some of them reveal situations he does not remember happening. His obsession with Samuel starts again, so he decides to do research on him and approaches his house to prowl. Apparently, Samuel lets his dog off the leash to chase Raúl, who, in self-defense, kills the animal. The result is a bite in his leg. That night, Raúl thinks he can see the animal's ghost hanging around the house. Raúl, confused, checks he is not injured. Reality starts to crumble around him; the fears invading him seem to become real. In the view of his strange behavior, Ana decides to leave since their encounter has not worked out. Raúl agrees to see them off and say goodbye, more concerned about the mystery involving him than about his love relationship. (Verleiher-Text)