Director Jacqueline Jansen’s “Sechswochenamt” captures the period after a mother’s death in documentary style. The protagonist Lore, played by Magdalena Laubisch, is left alone after her mother dies of cancer and must handle the funeral, apartment clearance, and paperwork. Things get especially tough when she tries to fulfill her mother’s last wish: scattering the ashes at sea, which is illegal in Germany.
The film was made without public funding and has already won several awards at festivals. Jansen draws on her own experience after her mother’s death. The director overcame numerous rejections and realized the project on a mini-budget.
Lore faces not only funeral bureaucracy but also her family in the Lower Rhine province. Her grandmother insists on conventions, her uncle is annoyed by his sister’s “extravagance,” and no help is forthcoming from Lore’s sister Sophie. Magdalena Laubisch convincingly plays the inwardly agitated but outwardly composed Lore – through glances and small gestures, she conveys the overwhelm and loneliness of grief.
The “Sechswochenamt,” a Catholic mass held six weeks after death, marks the end of the first phase of mourning in the film. The movie opens this week in German cinemas.
Source: www.sueddeutsche.de
