Dozing in bed with the pet cat relaxing nearby, a middle-aged author suddenly hears a piercing scream. It's his wife yelling his name, on a note of purest urgency. Running towards the front door, he discovers his wife speaking to two policemen. The police tells him that his son suffered a major accident while cycling. The life of the young man - so charming, so handsome, so full of promise - is hanging by a thread...
"Tonio" is a tale about the sudden loss of an only, much beloved son. Structurally, the story moves between past and present, dream and reality, memory and interpretation, lucidity and hallucination. For instance, the desperate ride of the parents towards their dying son is juxtaposed with a much earlier ride, filled with both pain and joy, when the mother-to-be was driven to the maternity ward.
It's a remarkably honest movie about the devastating effects of a great and unexpected tragedy. It's also a very relatable movie. Many people will recognize some or all of the emotions shown : the feeling of having been personally crushed by the Almighty Himself, the desperate search for an explanation, the equally desperate need for oblivion, the irrational guilt, the weird obsession with some minor detail or casual coincidence, the over-vulnerability to careless remarks.
"Tonio" is also a mature and compassionate movie, which treats its subject matter with a lot of delicacy and understanding. In other words : an achievement The Netherlands should feel proud about.
"Tonio" is a tale about the sudden loss of an only, much beloved son. Structurally, the story moves between past and present, dream and reality, memory and interpretation, lucidity and hallucination. For instance, the desperate ride of the parents towards their dying son is juxtaposed with a much earlier ride, filled with both pain and joy, when the mother-to-be was driven to the maternity ward.
It's a remarkably honest movie about the devastating effects of a great and unexpected tragedy. It's also a very relatable movie. Many people will recognize some or all of the emotions shown : the feeling of having been personally crushed by the Almighty Himself, the desperate search for an explanation, the equally desperate need for oblivion, the irrational guilt, the weird obsession with some minor detail or casual coincidence, the over-vulnerability to careless remarks.
"Tonio" is also a mature and compassionate movie, which treats its subject matter with a lot of delicacy and understanding. In other words : an achievement The Netherlands should feel proud about.