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.
Film details
Productieland
Netherlands
Jaar
2018
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2018
Lengte
95'
Medium/Formaat
DCP
Taal
Dutch
Première status
World premiere
Director
Saskia Diesing
Producer
Hanneke Niens, Hans de Wolf
Screenplay
Saskia Diesing, Esther Gerritsen
Sound design
Marco Vermaas
Production company
KeyFilm
Sales / World rights holder
Media Luna New Films
Distributor NL / Benelux rights holder
September Film
Cinematography
Aage Hollander
Editing
Axel Skovdal Roelofs
Production design
Diana van de Vossenberg
Music
Paul Eisenach
Principal cast
Simone Kleinsma, Elise van 't Laar, Leopold Witte, Stefan de Walle, Margôt Ros, René Groothof, Patrick Stoof