Still Life

Inconspicuous loner John May is a council official doing a job few would find rewarding. His duties involve organising funerals for "clients" who have no-one to care for them after their demise. His profession, the only thing which gives any meaning to his monotonous and reclusive existence, nevertheless soon starts to complicate his life. Following the death of a neighbour, May puts all his efforts into solving what will probably be his last official case: he needs to find the family and close friends of the deceased to allow them to say their final farewells. The film, inspired by real events, takes a highly sensitive and empathetic view of the phenomenon of solitary death, a subject Western civilisation chooses to neglect. This leisurely paced film possesses an inner strength facilitated by the collaboration of remarkable directing talent Uberto Pasolini and leading British actor Eddie Marsan, who gives a highly credible performance as the withdrawn funeral officer. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)