Another End

Another End is an AI company which offers their clients a temporary replacement of a person who recently died, in order to properly say goodbye to them. The deceased (they call them the 'absent') person's memories are transferred to another person's body and mind, and for a certain period of time this person becomes the absent person, without knowing so. As you're reading this, you probably start realizing how many ethical problems of all sorts that might engender, which it of course does; and it makes us doubt the efficiency and success of the whole idea.

All in all, it looks like the main message of the film is that it is natural to want to overcome death however irrational it is. Yet, this desperate desire (and in this film even a feasible option at least for some time) might end up causing even more pain and health problems.

On a happier note, we get a glimpse of how it looks like from the Host's side (the Host is the person who is paid for offering their body temporarily for the experiment) and those parts of the film showed how healing and powerful a real human connection can be and that talking to someone about your loss can be the wonderful first step of this 'saying goodbye' and carrying on.

This movie is a true masterpiece. The ones who have lost someone to onforeseen events will know the tearing feeling of wanting to speak to the deceased person for just one more time. In Another end, this wish becomes reality for Sal, who has lost his wife Zoe in a car accident. With the help of a technology that takes Zoe's memories and thoughts and plants them into a host, he gets to speak to his love again.

Piero Messina has created a touching drama, that masterly depicts the different feelings of loss: the longing, the pain, the unanswered questions, the words unspoken, the wish to just die - all in contrast to the happiness created by the person's memories. The outstanding performances by Gael Garcia Bernal and Renate Reinsve, combined with the touching music (by Moderat among others) and excellent camera work create an atmosphere, that stayed with me long after the movie was over. At times the movie reminded me of Inception, one of my favourite movies. I saw the movie at the world premiere at Berlinale and read a few reviews by critics that stated the movie was just a copy. But it is not a copy at all! It is even better and hits completely different which might not be understood by people who have not gone through the same loss before. For the ones of you who are not as lucky I can only recommend this movie to you on your journey to closure. 10/10.

This movie is impactful, controversial and beautiful in many ways. The idea of getting a second chance to see off a loved one and to do this in therapeutic steps via a host simulation is challenging and creates some challenges for the logic of the plot. The director has tried to create characters and a flow, that allows to immerse in the complex plot. The different settings are sometimes dark and dystopian and sometimes cheerful and light. The main characters are amazingly played by all three actors, the pictures created are harmonious and the music supports the flow. No wonder that the reception at the Berlinale audience was very positive and the two hours were engaging and entertaining.