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His joy is fleeting as his health is rapidly deteriorating
Plot
Lissy enjoys the degradation of her husband Gerd in a house. Even Leo Tolstoy knew that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. The German director Matthias Glasner, who received the Silver Bear at the 2024 Berlinale for his new film Dying, also knows this. But you can add to the theme the Protestant variant of northern Germany, which further intensifies the melancholy of the family. Lissy Lunies (Corinna HARFOUCH) and her husband Gerd (Hans Uwe BAUER) live in a small town in northern Germany and are already very affected by old age.
Accepting help is difficult for both of us
His two children live far away and are very affected by their own problems. Son Tom (Lars EIDINGER) lives in Berlin and has some success as a conductor, but is hopelessly embroiled in private disputes. Daughter Ellen (Lilith STANGENBERG) lives in Hamburg and is so committed to a life of alcoholism that she wakes up in Latvia after a night of drinking. It’s true! Both deal with their parents’ illness and their own deficiencies in different ways.
Haven’t we seen enough already?
The fact that the film is not boring during its three hours of shooting is due to the fantastic cast, which also includes Anna BEDERKE, Robert GWISDEK, Saerom PARK, Saskia ROSENDAHL and Ronald ZEHRFELD. German actors Corinna HARFOUCH (nominated for the 1989 EUROPEAN FILM AWARD for TREFFEN IN TRAVERS) and Hans Uwe BAUER were awarded the 2024 GERMAN FILM AWARD for their splendid performances. The coffee table showdown between HARFOUCH and EIDINGER is one of the most impressive aspects of German cinema in recent years. The Lunies are unhappy in their own way. A melancholic film from the German-speaking world!
Yes and no
Of course, as a film buff, you wonder if this is typically German (or at least northern German) or if it would be possible in other cultures. But Matthias GLASNER aims very high and is inspired by the great figures of cinema such as Ingmar BERGMAN and Federico FELLINI. After all, it’s not for nothing that Tom Lunies prefers to watch the four-hour television version of FANNY OCH ALEXANDER (1983) on Christmas Eve. And the character played by Robert GWISDEK (in real life, Harfouch’s son) reminds me, at least, of Steiner, played by Alain CUNY in LA DOLCE VITA (1959). Of course, depressing German cinema is not to everyone’s taste.
But the way the story is so close to reality has a very special impact that you should definitely expose yourself to
Definitely recommended!