Documentary “Las Toreras” asks the bereaved after a suicide
Published: Wednesday, Nov 15th 2023, 11:20
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What does a suicide do to family members? This difficult question is explored in the Swiss documentary "Las Toreras" by Jackie Brutsche. A powerful piece of cinema that gives hope despite the gloomy subject matter.
And then the mother dies. She was broken by the shadows and distortions in her soul, by the demands that could not be reconciled and the wishes that could not be fulfilled. She killed herself. Nothing is as it once was.
The husband, son, relatives in two countries and Jackie Brutsche, the daughter, remain behind. She was ten years old at the time. Decades later, the Zurich artist sets out with her camera in search of clues to find answers to her pressing questions. She interviews family members in Zurich and travels to Spain to speak to her mother's relatives there.
It becomes impressively clear how differently the mentally ill woman was perceived there. The question of "guilt" arises. Who is responsible for the fact that her life turned out this way and not differently? Although it is a commonplace, it is always surprising that memories cannot be anything other than subjective. It is impossible to derive objectivity from memories. There is no absolute truth.
Direct, honest, close to the people
"Las Toreras", the multidisciplinary artist's feature film debut after numerous short films, is a powerful piece of Swiss cinema. Direct, honest, close to the people - and with a director who doesn't spare herself. The film recently won two awards at the Zurich Film Festival, the "Emerging Swiss Talent Award" critics' prize and the Zurich Church Film Prize.
Director Brutsche complements the documentary level with an artistic-metaphorical one. In her imagination, she is a bullfighter who slips into her mother's skin.
Even if the daughter, like director Brutsche, wishes otherwise, she has to endure the fact that much remains vague. Nevertheless, her dense work has a positive underlying tone. The film proves that it is worth looking beyond the fate of individual families. Especially when it comes to topics that are intense and painful.*
*This text by Raphael Amstutz, Keystone-SDA was realized with the help of the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation.
©Keystone/SDA
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