Dying
“Dying” follows the very individual members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time.
The Lunies family has not really been a family for a long time. Lissy Lunies, in her mid-70s, is quietly happy when Gerd, her husband who is slowly wasting away from dementia, is put in a care home. But her new-found freedom is short-lived: diabetes, cancer, kidney failure and the onset of blindness signal that she does not have much time left herself. Meanwhile, her son Tom, who is a conductor, is working on a composition entitled “Dying” with his depressive best friend Bernard.
Tom’s ex-girlfriend Liv wants him to be the surrogate father of her child. His sister Ellen begins an affair with a married dentist with whom she shares a passion for alcohol and intoxication. But everything in life has its price. Confronted with death, the estranged family members finally meet again.
Winner of Best Screenplay at the Berlinale, this majestic fresco is not nearly as bleak as its title and summary might suggest. "Dying" is nominated for the European Film Academy awards in the categorie of Best Actor.
Matthias Glasner (1965) is a German film director, born in Hamburg. He used to work at the Hamburg State Opera and as a film projectionist. He has lived abroad in Russia and Texas. He started working on making films in the early 1980s. Whilst also working as a musician in the band homesweethome, Glasner founded the Jack Film & Musikproduktion company in 1993. In the 90s, he made the hipster trilogy “The Meds” (1995), “Sexy Sadie” (1996) and “Fandango” (2000) for the cinema, all of which premiered at the Berlinale. In 2006 completed the film “The Free Will” which won the Silver Bear for lead actor at the Berlinale 2006, among other awards. Glasner has also written and directed several television movies and series.
Die Mediocren (1995), Sexy Sadie (1996) Fandango (PÖFF 2000), Der freie Wille (Vaba tahe, PÖFF 2006), This Is Love (2009), Gnade (Mercy, 2011), Sterben (Dying, 2024)
