... is the way it is put together.
In short, this movie is full of emotional conflict, which needed to be resolved, but since the presentation is flawed on a fundamental level, it doesn't quite work out in the end.
The premise is interesting, motivations are clear, the reasons given are plausible, the plot seems coherent to me. The acting is good, the characters are distinct from each other, the pacing is good overall, technical aspects are mostly well done as far as I can see it. The movie doesn't try to be extraordinary, it is simple in a good way, it is easy to relate emotionally to these everyday people. Personally, I would have prefered more food for thought, deeper insight into the characters, but on the other hand, the short revelations given and even the one sentence allusions as to why they are how they are are sufficient enough. You can work from there if you need more personal answers. But in the end everything is put together in a way that I don't feel the supposed catharsis of the family. Don't get me wrong, I feel the emotions of the characters, their anger, their frustrations, sadness, social fears, their anxiety when faced with harsh realities like being on the verge of losing your livelihood, possibly your life or at least some health, and like facing the death of a loved one. I also feel their positive emotions, caring, love, feelings of connection and belonging, and also, again on the negative side, the disconnection and rift between the old man and all others of the family and their friends/partners.
Maybe my inability to feel the old man's catharsis and the subsequent somewhat loving atmosphere, when they leave him and his wife, stems from the change being too fast, too early? My guess is though, that the family dynamics are presented in a way, that made me feel sorry for the old man, because at first I was wondering why everybody is attacking him and it felt wrong that they did. He also doesn't come across as the person they tell he is. Yes, he makes snide remarks, but except for his attitude towards homosexuality, I thought these remarks might be grounded in his experience with his ungrateful children. Then his alcoholic ex-wife tells the nurse of her experiences with the old man during her marriage, and the problem here is, that you don't know if she's lying or not. She might tell the truth, she also might be making things up. At one point the old man is so angry he cuts off the top of one of the bushes. There seems to be no further significance to this act other than him venting his anger, but at the end of the movie, after the story is concluded, we see video footage where each of the three boys stands at one of the bushes, so there was more significance to it. And finally, it is alluded that the old man has had a violent temper without specifying what he did exactly. Did he hit his wife(s) regularly? He didn't come off as a violent type. I mean, the whole family wasn't exactly nice and peaceful to him during the movie, so when he burst after one of his sons started burning all of the old man's musical scores, and wanted to punch him in his face, his anger seemed justified. Another scene which might have been planned as showing the old man's indifference towards his second wife, is when he hits her with his car, but it looks to me more like inattentiveness on his and on her part.
Moreover I often had the impression that most of the family members had childlike attitudes, they lived out their aggressiveness on their father, blamed him for everything, and seemed trapped in a kind of victim mentality. So I felt more sorry for the old man than for the others and therefore no catharsis, therefore an ending with somehow unreal new connections and a somehow forced new beginning and a friendship between the second wife and the nurse, which came out of nowhere for me, since the two didn't interact, like, at all.
But I'd still say, that "Familienfest" is worth your time, so go see it, if the subject matter speaks to you.
In short, this movie is full of emotional conflict, which needed to be resolved, but since the presentation is flawed on a fundamental level, it doesn't quite work out in the end.
The premise is interesting, motivations are clear, the reasons given are plausible, the plot seems coherent to me. The acting is good, the characters are distinct from each other, the pacing is good overall, technical aspects are mostly well done as far as I can see it. The movie doesn't try to be extraordinary, it is simple in a good way, it is easy to relate emotionally to these everyday people. Personally, I would have prefered more food for thought, deeper insight into the characters, but on the other hand, the short revelations given and even the one sentence allusions as to why they are how they are are sufficient enough. You can work from there if you need more personal answers. But in the end everything is put together in a way that I don't feel the supposed catharsis of the family. Don't get me wrong, I feel the emotions of the characters, their anger, their frustrations, sadness, social fears, their anxiety when faced with harsh realities like being on the verge of losing your livelihood, possibly your life or at least some health, and like facing the death of a loved one. I also feel their positive emotions, caring, love, feelings of connection and belonging, and also, again on the negative side, the disconnection and rift between the old man and all others of the family and their friends/partners.
Maybe my inability to feel the old man's catharsis and the subsequent somewhat loving atmosphere, when they leave him and his wife, stems from the change being too fast, too early? My guess is though, that the family dynamics are presented in a way, that made me feel sorry for the old man, because at first I was wondering why everybody is attacking him and it felt wrong that they did. He also doesn't come across as the person they tell he is. Yes, he makes snide remarks, but except for his attitude towards homosexuality, I thought these remarks might be grounded in his experience with his ungrateful children. Then his alcoholic ex-wife tells the nurse of her experiences with the old man during her marriage, and the problem here is, that you don't know if she's lying or not. She might tell the truth, she also might be making things up. At one point the old man is so angry he cuts off the top of one of the bushes. There seems to be no further significance to this act other than him venting his anger, but at the end of the movie, after the story is concluded, we see video footage where each of the three boys stands at one of the bushes, so there was more significance to it. And finally, it is alluded that the old man has had a violent temper without specifying what he did exactly. Did he hit his wife(s) regularly? He didn't come off as a violent type. I mean, the whole family wasn't exactly nice and peaceful to him during the movie, so when he burst after one of his sons started burning all of the old man's musical scores, and wanted to punch him in his face, his anger seemed justified. Another scene which might have been planned as showing the old man's indifference towards his second wife, is when he hits her with his car, but it looks to me more like inattentiveness on his and on her part.
Moreover I often had the impression that most of the family members had childlike attitudes, they lived out their aggressiveness on their father, blamed him for everything, and seemed trapped in a kind of victim mentality. So I felt more sorry for the old man than for the others and therefore no catharsis, therefore an ending with somehow unreal new connections and a somehow forced new beginning and a friendship between the second wife and the nurse, which came out of nowhere for me, since the two didn't interact, like, at all.
But I'd still say, that "Familienfest" is worth your time, so go see it, if the subject matter speaks to you.