Enemies in Love

The film Enemies in love tells the story of one of the most well-known, provocative and beautiful married couples of the recent Swiss history: Iris Meyer and Peter von Roten. Peter von Roten was the offspring of an aristocratic, conservative family of politicians coming from the very catholic canton of Wallis. He fell in love with the attractive law-student and she fell for him, despite their contrary moral and political convictions. For their marriage, Iris von Roten had enforced, that from the beginning on a full individuality of each partner in economic, professional and sexual matters must exist. The arguments of the pair are documented in an exciting, very rich exchange of around 1300 letters between 1943 and 1950 reminiscent of the correspondence of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. The film is based on these letters and the 2007 published book «Verliebte Feinde» («Enemies in Love») by Wilfried Meichtry. In fictional scenes - Mona Petri and Fabian Kruger as Iris and Peter von Roten - and interviews with friends and relatives and footage material, the film shows a sparkling picture of this difficult, passionate and unconventional relationship.