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.