Above the World

The expectations for Elias are high: He is not only an excellent student, but also the son of the richest farmers in the Zillertal. Soon he is to take over the farm and its possessions. But the more the 18-year-old tries to fulfill the role intended for him, the more he threatens to break. Elias slips into a depression that confines him to bed for several weeks. When he slowly regains his strength, his father sends him on a sabbatical to the Märzengrund, an alpine pasture area that Elias is supposed to take care of for a summer. But when his family comes to pick him up after six months, Elias refuses. He moves further up into the mountains, above the tree line, where wilderness and solitude await him. Elias develops an almost paradisiacal relationship with nature and the animals.