Happy End?!

Happy End?! (2014) was directed by Petra Clever. It's in German, with English subtitles. Lucca, played by Sinha Gierke, is a young woman whose life has been micromanaged by her domineering father. She is bound for "Harvard Law School." (Not really, because she hasn't been to college. However, you get the point.)

Through a (true) miscarriage of justice, she gets convicted of what I assume is a misdemeanor, and has to serve 20 hours of community service at a hospice. It's there that she meets a hospice worker named Valerie, played by Vereena Wustcamp. Valerie is Lucca's opposite--a free spirit who is a (very good) club singer.

Valerie has developed a close relationship with one of the hospice residents, Herma. Herma's family is uncaring and avaricious. The story takes off after Herma dies. The question is whether Valerie and Lucca can defy Herma's son and Valerie's father and follow Herma's last wishes. (It sounds trite, but it's actually funny and interesting in the movie.)

We saw this film at its East Coast Premiere at the Little Theatre as part of ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film festival. It will work well on DVD.