The life of Karsten, a mortician, isn’t going that well at the moment. Just in time for Christmas, his parents inform him during the festive dinner that they want to commit suicide together. In five days. Usually used to death, he tries everything to convince the dear mother Marion and the father Theodor, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, not to pursue their plan. But the conflict about the self-determined death opens up old wounds – and as Karsten’s own health deteriorates rapidly, it is no longer clear who needs to be saved.
Acting
Fabian Hinrichs crumbles magnificently; Walser's maternal steel cuts deep.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes German directness into tragicomedy.
Director
Christian Werner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Germany's 2015 legalization of assisted suicide fuels the film's urgency; it's practically a policy debate with jokes.
The mortician son who can't handle his parents' death—Werner inverts the 'professional distance' trope to brutal effect.
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