What Is What We Wanted About?
The premise of What We Wanted in 244 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the sun‑kissed lull of a Sardinian seaside resort, a couple that has spent years wrestling with the quiet ache of infertility seeks a brief reprieve. Alice and Niklas arrive with the hope that turquoise waters and gentle breezes might soften the strain of countless failed attempts at in‑vitro fertilisation, and the film settles into a tone that feels both languid and charged, as the idyllic setting mirrors the yearning that lingers beneath the surface.
Their temporary escape quickly intertwines with the vibrant rhythm of another family that has set up next door—a German couple and their two lively children, whose carefree presence becomes a subtle catalyst. The contrast between the couple’s muted longing and the neighbors’ exuberant everyday moments creates a delicate tension, inviting the audience to sense the unspoken envy, grief, and hope that flow between them. The resort’s bright palette and relaxed pace mask an undercurrent of emotional turbulence, allowing the story to explore intimacy without resorting to melodrama.
As the days unfold, the couple finds themselves reflected in the lives around them, prompting quiet introspection about what they desire, what they fear, and how they define themselves beyond the notion of parenthood. The narrative dwells on small, charged interactions—shared glances, lingering silences, a brief, inexplicable disappearance—each hinting at deeper currents without laying them bare. Within this sun‑drenched microcosm, the film balances melancholy and tenderness, inviting viewers to contemplate how love endures, adapts, and reshapes itself when the future is uncertain.
What Happens in What We Wanted?
The complete story of What We Wanted, from the first scene to the last, in 417 words (about 2 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 2 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Alice Lavinia Wilson and Niklas Elyas M’Barek are a married couple living in Austria whose dream of starting a family has been crushed by a string of failed IVF attempts. The weight of infertility casts a quiet, stubborn shadow over their days, turning even shared moments into tests of patience and closeness. In a bid to escape the emotional grind, they choose a vacation on the sunny coast of Sardinia, hoping the sea breeze might offer a different rhythm for their relationship.
At a sun-kissed holiday resort, they encounter a lively German family—a couple with two children—whose warmth and everyday bustle stand in stark contrast to their own longing. This new friendship sharpens the ache they carry, reminding them of what they yearn for but cannot have. The presence of others’ ordinary happiness becomes a mirror that intensifies their own grief, envy, and the unspoken ache that has settled between them.
As days unfold, tensions simmer between Alice and Niklas, their frustrations and unspoken grief spilling into quiet disagreements. A moment that rattles both of them comes when Alice disappears briefly, causing panic among the couple and the resort guests. Her return feels grounding, a sign that her inner storm has not dissolved but has shifted into a more manageable fever—the turning point in a sorrow that had been slowly shaping their lives.
A sobering turn arrives with a crisis from the neighboring guests: their teenage son attempts suicide by taking several over-the-counter medications and is found unconscious beside the pool. The frightening sight jolts the couple into a stark awareness of life’s fragility and the choices that shape a family. This incident prompts them to reevaluate the very idea of parenthood, confronting how fragile hope can be when the past remains unresolved.
In the film’s quiet, patient final passages, the two protagonists share a small, intimate moment that signals a fragile peace. They seem to have learned to live with their loss and to begin redefining their future without a conventional path to parenthood; healing arrives not as a dramatic cure but as a gradual softening of their doubts. The last scenes leave their future deliberately open, suggesting that recovery has begun and that, perhaps, they are now closer than they were at the start—not whole, but quietly renewed.
- Note: The primary characters mentioned here are represented by their performers: Alice Lavinia Wilson and Niklas Elyas M’Barek. If you revisit these names, you’ll also see the cast credited in the shared pages for the film.
What We Wanted Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “IVF struggles strain their marriage” to “Open future hinted at by the final scene”. 12 events name a place, across 3 locations.
- 1
IVF struggles strain their marriage
Alice and Niklas are a married couple in Austria whose IVF attempts have repeatedly failed. The dream of having a child begins to crumble under mounting emotional strain and grief. They start to fear that their future will be defined by what they cannot have.
When:Before vacation Where:Austria
- 2
Escape plan: vacation to Sardinia
To escape the weight of their loss, they decide on a vacation to Sardinia. The trip is meant to offer perspective and a temporary break from their constant pain. It marks the first step toward viewing life beyond infertility.
When:Before departure Where:Austria
- 3
Arrival at the Sardinian resort
They arrive at a sunny Sardinian resort and settle into their holiday rhythm. The new environment promises respite, but the ache remains beneath the surface. The resort becomes the stage for encounters that will test their relationship.
When:First days of vacation Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 4
Meeting a lively German family
They meet a lively German family with two children who stay nearby, and the contrast with their own childlessness is hard to ignore. The interactions bring warmth as well as envy, reminding them of what they long for. The introduction of this family serves as a mirror to their deeper grief.
When:Early in vacation Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 5
Friendship heightens longing and envy
The growing friendship amplifies Alice and Niklas's sense of separation from a life that seems within reach for others. Their conversations are filled with tenderness and ache, highlighting what they lack. The vacation becomes a pressure cooker where longing and sorrow collide.
When:Mid vacation Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 6
Rising tensions and unanswered questions
As evenings progress, unspoken grief and jealousy strain their communication and threaten their connection. Arguments reveal how far apart they feel on the question of whether to try for a child or redefine their future. The tension exposes the fragility of their relationship under pressure.
When:Mid vacation Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 7
Alice's disappearance and panic
One evening, Alice disappears for a while, triggering panic in Niklas and in the resort when staff search for her. The moment emphasizes her fragile state and the need for space to process her grief. It becomes a turning point that unsettles the couple's fragile balance.
When:One evening Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 8
Alice returns; grounding moment
She returns and appears steadier, as if the distance has forced a new perspective. The quiet reappearance feels grounding and signals a shift in how she copes with loss. This moment hints at a path toward healing, even if it remains fragile.
When:Following disappearance Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 9
Neighbor's suicide attempt at the pool
Nearby, the neighbor's teenage son attempts to overdose on over-the-counter medications and is found unconscious by the pool. The incident jolts the holiday into a harsher awareness of life's fragility. Alice and Niklas are suddenly confronted with the reality of choosing whether to have children or redefine their future.
When:During vacation Where:Resort pool area, Sardinia
- 10
Reconsidering parenthood after the crisis
The incident pushes them to reconsider whether parenthood will ever fit into their lives. They question their longings and what kind of future they can sustain without a child.
When:After the incident Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 11
A quiet, healing moment
In the final stretch, they share a small, tender moment that signals a fragile peace. They acknowledge their loss together and begin to redefine what happiness might look like.
When:End of vacation Where:Sardinia, Italy
- 12
Open future hinted at by the final scene
The final scene leaves their future open, but suggests that healing has begun. They appear more connected and ready to redefine their lives beyond parenting.
When:Final scene Where:Sardinia, Italy
Who Are the Main Characters in What We Wanted?
3 characters, among them Alice (Lavinia Wilson), Niklas (Elyas M'Barek) and David (Fedor Teyml): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
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Alice (Lavinia Wilson)
Played by Lavinia Wilson
Alice is a married woman whose infertility and unspoken grief weigh heavily on her. During the vacation she grapples with longing, envy, and emotional exhaustion, leading to a brief disappearance that becomes a turning point. She is introspective, capable of tenderness, and ultimately seeks grounding and reconciliation with her partner.
- 💬 communication
- 💔 grief
- 💪 resilience
-
Niklas (Elyas M'Barek)
Played by Elyas M'Barek
Niklas is Alice's husband, sharing the burden of infertility but expressing his pain through tension and withdrawal. He struggles to balance empathy with frustration, and his arc focuses on rebuilding closeness and trust with Alice after their ordeal.
- 💬 communication
- 💔 grief
- 🧭 self-discovery
- D(
David (Fedor Teyml)
Played by Fedor Teyml
David is the neighbour's teenage son whose overdose attempt acts as a catalyst for reflection among the adults. His crisis foregrounds vulnerability and the fragility of family life, and it forces the couple to confront the reality of loss in their own lives.
- ⚠️ crisis
- 💔 youth vulnerability
- 🫶 compassion
Where and When Is What We Wanted Set?
What We Wanted is set in Austria and Sardinia (Italy) (Present day). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
Present day
The events unfold in contemporary times, within a European setting that mirrors current social dynamics around infertility. The plot revolves around real-world challenges such as IVF disappointment, marital strain, and the search for meaning after loss. The vacation to Sardinia provides a time-bound setting within which these dynamics play out.
Where
Austria, Sardinia (Italy)
Austria serves as the couple's home base, a calm, orderly backdrop to their private grief. They escape to a Sardinian resort, where sun, sea, and vacation routines contrast with their longing to have a child. The holiday setting introduces a lively neighboring family, intensifying the tension between what they have and what they yearn for.
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🏝️ Sardinia
- Italy
- 🧭 Vacation backdrop
What Are the Themes of What We Wanted?
4 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Grief and Loss, Parenthood Desire and Communication.
-
01
Grief and Loss
Alice and Niklas confront the deep grief of infertility throughout the vacation. The failed IVF attempts frame their conversations and distance, forcing them to face what they have lost. Alice's momentary disappearance during the trip becomes a symbolic turning point, suggesting an attempt to escape and then re-ground herself. The film portrays grief as a slow, private process that reshapes the couple's future.
-
02
Parenthood Desire
The couple's longing for a child presses on their relationship, amplifying envy and comparison with the neighbors' family. The presence of children nearby serves as a constant reminder of what they cannot have. The vacation's social environment intensifies this desire, forcing them to examine what parenthood means to them beyond biology. By the end, the couple begins to redefine their future away from the fantasy of a child.
-
03
Communication
Tensions simmer as unspoken grief and inadequacy erode their communication. The distance grows when they avoid discussing their pain, making small conflicts feel larger. The neighboring family and the crisis with the neighbor's son act as catalysts that reveal cracks in their relationship. The film suggests that honest dialogue is essential to weather grief and move forward.
-
04
Healing
Despite the turmoil, the trip becomes a crucible for personal growth. Alice's return after disappearing grounds her and signals a shift toward acceptance. The neighbor's crisis and the shared vulnerability help them reconnect, leading to a fragile peace and a future defined by choice rather than expectation. The ending leaves the couple open to redefining happiness without a child.
What Kind of Film Is What We Wanted?
Melancholic in tone, with slow pacing and a straightforward story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Melancholic
- Pacing
- Slow
- Story
- Straightforward
- Intensity
- Medium
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A quietly intense and melancholic drama that follows a couple's fragile vacation, where scenic beauty contrasts with the heavy emotional toll of infertility and strained intimacy.
- melancholic
- introspective
- strained
- hopeful
- somber
- quiet
- infertility
- marriage crisis
- grief
- vacation
Content notes: suicide attempt, infertility.
Quiz
How well do you remember What We Wanted? Test yourself on the story.
