Not Without You (2010)

Directed by: Peter Lataster, Petra Lataster-Czisch | 84 minutes | documentary

Ger Lataster, who has already celebrated his ninetieth birthday, is a well-known and talented Dutch painter. His work has been exhibited in the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, among others. He is hearing impaired and has difficulty walking. He needs help dressing and bathing and has the impression that he has to pee after every sip he takes. He can still be found daily in his studio, where he works on several canvases at the same time. Hermine Lataster-van Hall is in her early eighties, is a retired photographer and likes to occupy herself in the beautiful garden at the house where she lives with Ger. She suffers from dementia and the pain in her body is increasing daily. She is at the same time Ger’s muse and his greatest critic.

Peter Lataster (1955) is a filmmaker and cameraman. His record includes documentaries such as ‘Stories of a river’ (1994), for which he, together with his wife Petra Lataster-Czisch, received a Golden Calf, ‘Droomland DDR’ (2003) and ‘This will never go away. ‘ (2005). In ‘Not without you’ (2010), again together with his wife Petra Lataster-Czisch, he shows the last two years of his parents’ marriage. They do this without frills and commentary, but with a realistic approach. The couple has been married for sixty-five years and that means they have known a lot of tenderness (the photo where Hermine breastfeeds Peter is a wonderful proof of that), but also struggles (the bickering in the documentary about trivial things like pouring drinks is funny, touching and sad at the same time).

A large part of the documentary consists of long scenes, in which very little happens. We see Ger shuffling through the house and his studio, Hermine looking for a cup of coffee that she has just placed in front of him and fiddling with a garden hose in the garden, leaving the viewer guessing for a long time as to her precise intention. The slowness of the film fits in well with the image you have of the daily life of a very elderly couple. And how wonderful that old recordings have also been edited in ‘Not without you’, in which the couple can be seen very recognisably in their younger years.

It is confronting to see that after 65 years of marriage the wrangling between the spouses is still not over. Hermine doesn’t hide her criticism about Ger’s work (and he doesn’t care!) and Hermine also regularly gets a blow from Ger, when she has lost something again. It is difficult, painful and fair to see the couple deteriorate, the two elderly artists are literally put close to the skin. As the documentary progresses, the process of Hermine’s change is especially evident. The fact that she herself realizes this is very poignant, and that scene is almost as moving as the images at the deathbed and after.

With great feeling and respect, Peter and Petra Lataster introduce the viewer to these special artists, who are so dear to them. All the more admirable that the images are not always too flattering, but always honest, true to nature and often comical. One of the most beautiful scenes is at the end of ‘Not without you’, in which Ger tries to paint away his grief a month after Hermine’s death, but comes to the realization that “no one can match this.” Great if you can still keep it dry. Growing old together in such a way, you wish it on everyone.