Headed to the 74th Berlin International Film Festival is the sci-fi drama Another End, and the reason this has people buzzing about its upcoming world premiere is the cast. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve in a story about how far one person will go to see a deceased loved one just one more time.
The film is directed by Italian filmmaker Piero Messina, who previously directed Juliette Binoche in The Wait. Set in a near future, the fantasy drama is set in a world where grieving people can briefly bring back their dead loved ones in a different body.
Also in the cast are Bérénice Bejo, Olivia Williams, and Pal Aron.
Here’s the synopsis: Sal’s empty eyes reveal he has been living only on memories since he lost the love of his life, Zoe. Memories like fragments of a shattered mirror that cannot be put back together. Observing her brother with growing concern, Sal’s sister Ebe suggests that he tries “Another End”, a new technology that promises to ease the pain of separation by briefly bringing back to life the consciousness of a person who has died. In this way, Sal finds Zoe again – but in the body of another woman. It is a body he does not know but in which he is mysteriously able to recognise his wife. What was broken suddenly seems to be mended. In fact, “Another End” grants Sal the time to share a little more life with Zoe, to love her again, to be loved by her and, ultimately, to say goodbye. But this is a fragile, ephemeral and insidious joy. When Sal reaches the end of the programme, he has no intention of meekly watching as his love dissolves in the definitive loss of his wife.
Another End will have its world premiere at Berlinale this weekend before opening in Italy in March. There’s no US release date yet.
