Everything Went Fine

With very precise acting and without any traces of kitsch, "Everything Went Fine" by renowned French director, Francois Ozon ("Frantz"), is a masterful reflection on assisted suicide. The movie is based on the eponymous autobiography of the main character, Emmanuelle. Accordingly, the film takes a very personal look at her father and his desire to end his life in a self-determined way, but also at the conflicts into which this plunges his immediate environment. In particular, the numerous legal, bureaucratic and not least financial pitfalls are illuminated by the film in an unpretentious manner.

For all the authentic feelings the film portrays, it resists any temptation toward pathos or over-dramatization. The biography of the dying father, his difficult marriage heavily burdened by his bisexuality, the critical relationship with his daughter ("You've always been my favorite son") -- all this is only lightly hinted at. In fact, the movie manages to tackle a deeply existential topic with surprising lightness.

All in all, this is certainly the work of a master director, but not quite a genuine masterpiece. Nevertheless, "Tout s'est bien passé" is well worth seeing and thinking about -- though it doesn't necessarily make you cry. At least not before the final credits roll.