I stumbled into this German TV movie without knowing anything about it which made the watching experience something surprising, confusing and mysteriously fascinating. It's such an unusual mix of elements and themes that I had to watch twice to figure out a few things, see some missed details - no worries cause the film is good and stays with you for a while. With that said, I still cannot describe a summarized view of it or define its most important theme, so just bear with me.The first images of "Der Findling" ("The Findling") seems to throw a sci-fi idea of an apocalyptic scenario of Nicolo, a young boy who lost his parents and was adopted by an old rich man. Some war happened, maybe a chemical or a nuclear explosion aftermath. The story jumps (in a great style, with the happy boy playing with a paper toy that hits a tree) and we see him as a young adult (Titus Gerhardt) who receives an industrial complex as heritage from his adoptive parents (Rudolf Fernau and Julie Felix) providing he deals with the business and pay a monthly pension to them. Soon, Nicolo is involved in an arranged marriage with Constance (Elke Kummer) - but they don't agree much with each other - at the same time he gets in bed with a lover (Ashkhen Kaprielian).Despite many things going on his favor, Nicolo is a sad reflective figure that becomes easily unhappy as he thinks too much. The business seems to go well despite a potential political crisis get in the way (a very distractive device that isn't fully explained); the marriage is a series of dull exchanges and maybe it's time to have a baby and form a family, though he still needs the lover's company. Then comes the serious turn of events when he accidentally scares his adoptive mother after showing up dressed with a military uniform, used on a costume party he attended. She faints at his sight, gets a medical treatment and all of that intrigues Nicolo into finding out what really happened to her.A story about obsession, skeletons in the closet, hidden secrets coming to surface, tragic love affairs, and the conflict of past and present. "Der Findling" has all of that, with a touch of mystery and controversy, almost hitting a supernatural/spiritual element. It's a little hard to figure out why Nicolo would become so obsessed in uncovering the main secret from the mom and his future interferences/acting upon them, a room for potential tragedy. But in a way I see it as a form of the man growing out of his self and his problems, believing he can help a loved one (though in a critical way that might leave you shocked). The secret is part cliché/part original, but it definitely makes you invested in the story and its development, all becoming darker.Great production values for a TV movie, it brings a lot of qualities coming from many works of several European New Wave movements (German, Polish and Czech mostly), the acting is quite good (notably the leading the man and the father). The script can be a mess if you don't know the story or read the novel of which was based (I haven't read so I went along with the ride trying to figure out everything and I still don't have a clue if it's set in Italy or if it revolves on Italian characters who live in Germany, as there's a contrast of Italian names with German signs and posters). But I liked it, couldn't get out of my head.A good puzzling experience that can provoke plenty of questions revolving life, family, relationships, the joys that turn into sorrows and how some lives cannot escape the dark hands of doom and insanity. 6/10.