Tout s’est bien passé (2021)

Directed by: François Ozon | 113 minutes | drama | Actors: Sophie Marceau, André Dussollier, Géraldine Pailhas, Charlotte Rampling, Éric Caravaca, Hanna Schygulla, Hanna Schygulla, Judith Magre, Jacques Nolot, Daniel Mesguich, Nathalie Richard, Annie Mercier

François Ozon’s ‘Tout s’est bien passé’ (2021) is about the difficult, yet loving parent-child relationship between the very elderly bon-vivant André (André Dussollier) and his daughters Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau) and Pascale (Géraldine Pailhas). . André is rushed to hospital when he suffers a stroke and is half paralyzed as a result. The impact this has on the daily lives of the two women is great, but the headstrong André has no intention of making it easier for them.

The focus of this beautifully acted French drama is mainly on the bond between Emmanuèle and father. With a few short flashbacks, we get to see that André has never really been a model father. As a young girl, Manue – as she’s still called today – gets serious insults thrown at her (“Are you stuffing yourself again?”). There does not seem to be a warm relationship of trust. Yet it is Emmanuèle who is put in front of André’s cart when he enlists her help in ending his life.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are prohibited in France. Although André is seriously ill, he is certainly still in his right mind, so he is well aware of what he is burdening his daughter with. At first, Emmanuèle holds off in the hopes he won’t go back to it or change his mind, but deep in her heart she knows that the determined old man won’t change her mind. ‘Tout s’est bien passé’ not only beautifully portrays how the dilemma tears the sisters apart from the inside, it is also about a sick family member – the continuous visits to the hospital, the bad news conversations with doctors, the walks through the corridors that seem to never end – realistically depicted.

It is in these scenes that ‘Tout s’est bien passé’ makes the most impression. Sidelines such as that of André’s sexual orientation, mother’s depression and Parkinson’s (Charlotte Rampling, good, but little in the picture), the events surrounding André’s former lover, the fact that this Jewish family also suffered its scars during the holocaust and even Manue’s youth, do not really come into their own and are therefore exactly that: filler for an already strong drama.

Although the theme is heavy, ‘Tout s’est bien passé’ is not overly sad or dramatic. Thanks to André’s insufferability, the film is occasionally darkly comical. Dussollier is very good, but the two film sisters also play believable roles, you immediately believe their family bond. Also note the fine supporting role of Hanna Schygulla. And at the end, this French art-house drama almost takes on a thriller-like character. Ozon based this film on the book of the real Emmanuèle (Bernheim, 1955-2017), with whom he wrote a number of screenplays. Even before her book was published, he was given a proof, but the film adaptation never got off the ground. ‘Tout s’est bien passé’ is therefore not only a manifestation of the dilemma surrounding assisted suicide, but also an ode to a friendship that has already yielded a lot of beautiful things.