Writer-director Matthias Glasner’s Dying, a nuanced anatomy of a dysfunctional German family, begins with Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) prostrated on the living room floor covered in feces and unable to move. Meanwhile, her husband, Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer), aimlessly parades around their apartment in the buff. Clearly withdrawn from reality, he doesn’t register Lissy’s presence, let alone her distress, as he walks in front of her.
We’ll learn across this poignant and unforgiving saga of the origins and results of lovelessness that this is an average day in the life of the elderly couple. And while it’s easy to read this disturbing opening as a raw portrait of the predicaments of old age, the scene is ultimately understood as the embodiment of an entire family’s sad state of affairs: It always seems as if someone in the Lunies clan is drowning in shit and everyone else is looking the other way.
We’ll learn across this poignant and unforgiving saga of the origins and results of lovelessness that this is an average day in the life of the elderly couple. And while it’s easy to read this disturbing opening as a raw portrait of the predicaments of old age, the scene is ultimately understood as the embodiment of an entire family’s sad state of affairs: It always seems as if someone in the Lunies clan is drowning in shit and everyone else is looking the other way.
- 2/26/2024
- by Diego Semerene
- Slant Magazine
Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) is huddled on the floor in her nightgown, trying to ring her son. Her legs and nightgown are smeared brown with her regular nightly incontinence, but it is her husband who worries her: Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) has wandered outside again, not sure where he is and wearing no pants. Her neighbor is at the door, insisting on being helpful, while Lissy just wants her to cut short this humiliation; has she spotted that even the phone is now daubed with excrement?
Old age ain’t no place for sissies, as Bette Davis famously said. The usual riposte is that it’s better than the alternative, but Matthias Glasner’s long, absorbing and intermittently very funny film calls that into question. Life, even before the debilities of age become its main feature, is the real difficulty.
Glasner’s story is a version of a traditional family saga, but...
Old age ain’t no place for sissies, as Bette Davis famously said. The usual riposte is that it’s better than the alternative, but Matthias Glasner’s long, absorbing and intermittently very funny film calls that into question. Life, even before the debilities of age become its main feature, is the real difficulty.
Glasner’s story is a version of a traditional family saga, but...
- 2/19/2024
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Unabashedly sporting the most inauspicious of titles, a three-hour running time and a logline that features terminally ill elders and self-destructive descendants, German feature Dying (Sterben) looks like a hard sell on paper. And yet writer-director Matthias Glasner’s crisscrossing family drama manages to be exceedingly funny, often in some of its darkest moments, as well as expectedly sad.
Anchored by a nuanced, detailed performance by Lars Eidinger as Tom, an orchestra conductor juggling all manner of personal and professional commitments, and pitch-perfect turns by Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld as the rest of his combustible nuclear family, this richly rewards the time investment it requires. Sure, a few trims here and there wouldn’t have necessarily ruined it, and some might suggest this could work better as a multi-part limited series for upscale TV.
But it’s hard to imagine watching the musical performance set pieces anywhere...
Anchored by a nuanced, detailed performance by Lars Eidinger as Tom, an orchestra conductor juggling all manner of personal and professional commitments, and pitch-perfect turns by Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld as the rest of his combustible nuclear family, this richly rewards the time investment it requires. Sure, a few trims here and there wouldn’t have necessarily ruined it, and some might suggest this could work better as a multi-part limited series for upscale TV.
But it’s hard to imagine watching the musical performance set pieces anywhere...
- 2/19/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Over three hours and five different chapters, Matthias Glasner’s “Dying” chronicles the travails of an estranged family of four: an elderly couple on the brink of death, their successful composer son and their alcoholic, ne’er-do-well daughter. The film casts a wide net over their experiences, and every leading performance is as impeccable as the last. However, Glasner’s formal rigidity prevents their stories from feeling intrinsically bound, leaving each of them with little to say.
The film opens in the German countryside with elderly couple Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) and Gerd Lunies (Hans-Uwe Bauer) being found helpless by a neighbor. Lissy’s litany of ailments render her only semi-mobile, and she often ends the day by soiling herself, while Gerd’s dementia leads him to wander naked into people’s homes. They can’t help each other, and their adult children are too preoccupied with their own metropolitan lives to get involved.
The film opens in the German countryside with elderly couple Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) and Gerd Lunies (Hans-Uwe Bauer) being found helpless by a neighbor. Lissy’s litany of ailments render her only semi-mobile, and she often ends the day by soiling herself, while Gerd’s dementia leads him to wander naked into people’s homes. They can’t help each other, and their adult children are too preoccupied with their own metropolitan lives to get involved.
- 2/18/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
In Dear Child Episode 4, human remains were discovered, but the shocking revelation that the remains were 15 months older than the date Jasmin was kidnapped, raising questions about other potential victims. Meanwhile, Gerd and Aida worked together to investigate other missing women from around the same time period. At the same time, Hannah’s behavior became increasingly aligned to her father’s wishes, causing further concern. The discovery of blonde hair strands in a human skull, including two belonging to Lena, suggested that Lena might still be alive. At the same time, Gerd attempted to find more information about the identity of the man found dead in the house. As the episode concluded, Nurse Ruth met a tragic fate, and Jasmin kept vital information about the dead man from Gerd, hinting at the kidnapper’s more sinister plans ahead in Dear Child Episode 5.
Spoilers Ahead
Do The Police Uncover Additional Information About The Missing Women?...
Spoilers Ahead
Do The Police Uncover Additional Information About The Missing Women?...
- 9/7/2023
- by Raschi Acharya
- Film Fugitives
In the gripping third episode of Dear Child, the pieces of this puzzling abduction case began to fall into place, but with startling revelations. The presented Lena struggled to maintain her facade while dealing with the trauma of captivity. Meanwhile, Hannah and Jonathan’s roles in this dark drama grew more complex, hinting at a deeper connection to their captor. As Aida and the team race against time to locate the elusive kidnapper and diffuse bombs in the area, Lena’s true identity is revealed as Jasmin Grass. But this revelation only deepens the mystery, leaving us with more questions than answers. Now, with different suspects in the picture and the primary suspect still at large, Dear Child Episode 4 promises more twists and challenges for the Investigators. Will they be able to keep Jasmin and the children safe, or will the suspect’s sinister plan reach its shocking conclusion?
Spoilers...
Spoilers...
- 9/7/2023
- by Raschi Acharya
- Film Fugitives
In the previous episode of Dear Child, things got even more tangled up. Lena was dealing with posttraumatic panic attacks and seizures because of her Abduction. But the big question remained: Was she really Lena? She kept saying, she was not. Lena’s parents, Matthias and Karin, were desperate to reunite with their daughter. However, they were struggling because they couldn’t recognize the woman they wanted to believe was Lena. On the other hand, Detective Aida and her team embarked on a risky mission to a military compound in hopes of finding clues about Jonathan, Lena’s missing son. However, they stumbled upon a security guard and a dangerous minefield, adding more suspense and danger to the mix. As the story unfolded, it became clear that hidden secrets were making things even more complicated, and now Dear Child episode 3 promises to reveal more about the story, as the characters...
- 9/7/2023
- by Raschi Acharya
- Film Fugitives
In the first episode of Dear Child, we meet Lena, a woman who was held captive with her children for thirteen years by a man they called father. Lena got in a car accident while trying to escape, leaving her seriously injured. Her daughter Hannah’s drawings revealed some disturbing family secrets, and the police started investigating Lena’s mysterious background. Looking ahead to Dear Child Episode 2, we will learn more about Lena’s past and why she was held captive. The police will dig deeper into Hannah’s revelations, getting closer to figuring out who their captor is. At the same time, Lena’s parents, Matthias and Karin, are also searching for their daughter, leading to emotional encounters. Hannah’s Rolle could become pivotal, as she may hold important clues to their family’s history.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens When Lena Wakes Up?
At the outset of Dear Child...
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens When Lena Wakes Up?
At the outset of Dear Child...
- 9/7/2023
- by Raschi Acharya
- Film Fugitives
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