Germany 2022
Opening June 9, 2022
Directed by: Jessica Krummacher
Writing credits: Jessica Krummacher
Principal actors: Birte Schnöink, Elsie de Brauw, Susanne Bredehöft, Christian Löber, Hede Beck
Zum Tod meiner Mutter is a film which takes a look at the questions and attitudes of euthanasia. Juliane’s (Birte Schnöink) mother is 64 years old but has been severely sick for many years. She lives in a home and has finally decided she doesn’t want to live anymore. Juliane contemplates this plea for help and approaches a doctor who informs her that the only way someone can choose to die is to stop eating and drinking. In other counties there are ways the physicians can assist the patient but not in Germany. As she accompanies her mother through this process, she learns more about what her mother’s friends and acquaintances think about this entire process. It seems that only Juliane has the empathy after seeing her mother suffer for years, and she is open to her mother’s choice even if it means death. Having recently experienced this myself, I found that the dialogue is a bit forced and expected that the daughter would find a deeper sense of the meaning of life. As she watches cartoons and eats chips it seemed to me that Juliane was not really facing what was coming. 134 Min. ()