Dying

Celebrated auteur Matthias Glasner’s compelling drama Dying assembles an outstanding all-star cast led by the incredible Lars Eidinger as a successful, middle-aged orchestra conductor negotiating the chaos of his volatile private life. Berlin: Tom Lunies (Eidinger) is rehearsing a new composition titled Sterben (“Dying”) written by his troubled, highly-strung best friend Bernard. Though romantically involved with his assistant Ronja, Tom’s ex-girlfriend is about to give birth and wants him to co-parent the child. Hamburg: Tom’s younger sister, Ellen (Lilith Stangenberg), a dental hygienist, begins a frenzied affair with a married colleague with whom she shares a passion for self-medication and hedonism. Meanwhile, Tom’s ailing, sharp-tongued mother Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) is struggling to care for her husband, Gerd, whose mental decline is wreaking havoc on their quiet lives. Where are the couple’s two adult children when they are needed most? A masterpiece of shifting tonal registers, Glasner’s provocative, semi-autobiographical film treads the line between drama, tragedy and black humour, in an indelible, richly rewarding experience that was a sensation at last year’s Berlinale.