The Frog and the Water

The Frog and the Water is a comedy-drama centered on Stefan Busch, a man known as Buschi who has spent his life avoiding verbal communication with others. While on a group outing from his assisted living home, he joins a group of Japanese tourists. This leads to an unconventional road trip through Germany, Switzerland, and Japan, where Buschi develops a cautious friendship with a man named Hideo Kitamura. Through their shared experiences in unfamiliar settings, Buschi begins to open up and form a bond that transcends spoken language.

The film was directed by Thomas Stuber, following his previous works A Heavy Heart, In the Aisles, and Spuk unterm Riesenrad. The screenplay was written by Gotthart Kuppel. The lead roles are played by Aladdin Detlefsen as Buschi and Kanji Tsuda as Hideo Kitamura, with a supporting cast that includes Yuki Iwamoto, Ikkô Masuda, Katja Preuß, and Sophie Lutz. Produced by companies including ZDF, Neopol Film, ARTE, and Pandora Film, the movie has a runtime of 113 minutes.