Dorst

Twenty-something Coco has no idea what she wants to do with her life. A hopeless affair with the recently divorced fifty-something Hans is ample evidence of that. When one day she bumps into her mother Elisabeth in town, her mother tells her that she is terminally ill. And then she walks away with a throwaway “let’s call sometime”, leaving her daughter in confusion. This is symptomatic of the difficult relationship between the two of them: one is distant and rational, the other yearns for attention and love. In an ultimate attempt to get closer, Coco decides to move back in with her mother and care for her. That leads to painful revelations and tragicomic situations.

Saskia Diesing filmed the novel by Esther Gerritsen as a merciless and humane sketch of people’s inability to get closer to each other. The actors are the heart of the film. Dutch musical star Simone Kleinsma, in her very first leading role in a film, turns in a wonderful performance as the hard yet vulnerable Elisabeth.