Stopped on Track

Simone and Frank, both 40, have only just settled in when they receive the worst news possible: Frank has cancer and things look very bad for him. This situation not only changes the practical running of the family, but also the relationships between the family members and their view of what dying really means. The director begins as a good doctor, delicately and openly taking his patient through the treatment and through his illness as it develops, which he observes in shrewd and precise detail. Here, as in his other films, Dresen manages to find a balance between the civil and dramatic aspects of the story. Similarly, he succeeds in gently introducing a sense of optimism into grave situations, which ultimately prevails in the film without trivialising the unfolding tragedy. Thanks to the director’s remarkable talent for giving a true picture of the most ordinary of situations, we follow the heroes on a journey they never dreamed they would have to take. The dialogues are based on improvisation which was preceded by extensive research carried out among advocates of hospices and people whose loved ones died after suffering serious illness. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)