Lara

A retired, hardnosed civil servant, Lara Jenkins (Corinna Harfouch, best known for her work in Downfall) begins her 60th birthday by preparing to jump out of a window. Thankfully, she is interrupted, and we soon learn that her suicide bid was more an attention-getter than the act of a depressive—for Lara is an embittered former musician turned stage mother who is now having to deal (very, very badly it turns out) with her son’s (Tom Schilling) unbridled success as a concert pianist. This is the fascinating premise for this wonderfully directed and acted (Harfouch is great) drama in which Lara will seemingly stop at nothing to spoil her son’s debut that same night of a piece he himself has written…

‘Gerster and Harfouch have united with screenwriter Blaž Kutin to deliver a film that constantly intrigues and engages… Between the writing, the confident direction and the calm camera, we see a complex woman who is difficult and resolutely unsympathetic, and yet, we understand her. Some may even see the worst part of themselves reflected in her panicked, calculating eyes.’—Fionnuala Halligan, Screen