s i m u l t a n e o u s t r a n s l a t i o n i n t o C z e c h v i a h e a d p h o n e s
Ana, Robert and their teenage son Max plan on spending an idyllic sojourn at their remote
German country house. Their fragile unity is disrupted, however, when more and more members
of their extended family show up to vent past resentments and reveal long-kept secrets. The
mother is tired of lonely rural life. The daughter’s marriage is at an end.
The teenage son has
his first quarrel with his girlfriend. The grandmother falls seriously ill and dies. Dramatic events
are nonetheless creeping up on the unaware protagonists. Arslans’ ascetic style is inspired by
the great exponents
of “auteur cinema” (Bresson, Rohmer, Kiarostami) and the intensity of its
gaze imbues it with a tremendous emotional potency.