45/25
Her joy is temporary because her health is rapidly declining
Line of Events
Lissy enjoys the decline of her husband Gerd in the home. Even Leo TOLSTOY knew that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. This is also clear to German film director Matthias GLASNER, who was awarded the Silver Bear at the BERLINALE 2024 for his new film DYING. But he can add a North German Protestant variant to the theme, which further intensifies the family melancholy.
Accepting help is difficult for both of them
Lissy Lunies (Corinna HARFOUCH) and her husband Gerd (Hans Uwe BAUER) live in a small North German town and are already seriously affected by old age. . Their two children live far away and are hard hit by their own problems. Son Tom (Lars EIDINGER) lives in Berlin and is somewhat successful as a conductor, but is hopelessly embroiled in private quarrels.
The showdown at the table between HARFOUCH and EIDINGER is one of the most impressive things seen in German cinema in recent years
Daughter Ellen (Lilith STANGENBERG) lives in Hamburg and is so committed to a life of alcohol that she wakes up in Latvia after a night of drinking. It’s true! They both deal with their parents in different ways; the fact that the film never gets boring during its three-hour run time is thanks to a fantastic cast, including Anna BEDERKE, Robert GWISDEK, Saerom PARK, Saskia ROSENDAHL and Ronald ZEHRFELD. German actors Corinna HARFOUCH (nominated for the EUROPEAN FILM AWARD 1989 for TREFFEN IN TRAVERS) and Hans Uwe BAUER were awarded the GERMAN FILM AWARD 2024 for their brilliant performances.
Yes and no
The Lunies family is unhappy in its own way. Haven’t we seen enough of that already? Of course, as a cinemagoer you wonder whether this is typically German (or at least North German) or whether it would be possible in other cultures. But Matthias GLASNER aims very high and is modelled on film greats such as Ingmar BERGMAN and Federico FELLINI.
But the way the story is so close to reality has a very special impact that you should definitely expose yourself to
After all, it is not for nothing that Tom Lunies preferred to watch the four-hour TV 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 everyone’s cup of tea.