Saw this at the Rotterdam filmfestival (IFFR) 2023, where it was part of the Tiger Competition. Turbulent gathering of old friends. Mixture of humorous and tragic scenes. Lots of unexpected developments, all densely packed in 91 minutes. As a result, not a single boring moment. Could have filled ample extra running time given several still underexploited topics, but I don't blame the film makers as there were more than enough heavy moments after another to let sink in. Having said that, we were lucky that relief scenes were provided in between, with humorous encounters outside the apartment, on the street and on the stairs in and around the apartment building.
It was a pleasant surprise for me, as I had assumed from the synopsis that we would watch a meeting of successful and less successful friends, the former boasting about their achievements and the latter enduring it or fruitlessly downplaying their own lack of success. But none of that was happening, with a sole exception in the beginning when one of the invitees cancelled as he dreaded to be among people having much more accomplished that he had. In retrospect, rather the opposite of a boasting contest enrolled, as the majority had real life problems to share. Some arrived even before their time, saying they wanted to assist in the preparations but in fact were all too eager to talk about recent mishaps. Accidental encounters on the street and on the stairs produced some last-minute-invited guests, adding to the mixture of problems that we saw exposed.
In the final Q&A several details about the making of Letzer Abend / One Last Evening came to light. One interesting topic was how much was scripted and how much improvised. There was a script prepared, better said an outline what was meant to happen. That did not prevent some spontaneous things to get included, for instance when Clemens is sent out to a neighbor to lend some flour, he is sent back with the choice of three sorts (spelt, white, or whole-wheat). In the process, Katharine (with a K) meets Clemens (with a C) on the stairs, both wasting time with talking about how their names are spelled, letting Lisa wait in the kitchen for her much-needed flour, letting her wonder about the delay and ultimately joining the discussion on the stairs, thereby only adding to the confusion and the delay. Very common situations and very recognizable, offering lots of opportunities for ad-lib dialogues where the director can let go easily, adding juice and believability without any effort from his side.
I can imagine that the editor had the additional burden to maintain brevity and conciseness, and he did so with perfect results given the 91 minutes running time in which much more happens than I thought possible within those confines.
All in all, a pleasant surprise for me, despite the contents that proved less pleasant and riddled with misery, many depressive thoughts, and a less than bright future ahead for all of them. I gave a score 5 out of 5 for the audience award after the screening.
