A screaming comes across the screen, a scream of an ailing Spanish actress calling for her one child who stayed. In They Will Be Dust, the actress is Claudia (Angela Molina), calling for her daughter Violeta (Monica Almirall). Those informal cries become a formal invitation as she asks for the presence of her two other Chilean children. Now that they’re all together, Violeta announces that Claudia and her husband Flavio (Alberto Castro) choose to die together. Part of that choice is for the three of them to go to Switzerland where assisted death is accessible. Knowing that time is running out, the three make the most out of the little time they have together.
Carlos Marques-Marcet’s previous work focuses on millennial age couples like The Days To Come, a film about Catalonia. The couple in that film sees growing up as having to assimilate into Spanish hegemony, showing a two sided argument. There’s also two sides to the conflict here, but Spanish imperialism is easier to beat than, you know, death. But also, this film shows that death is a worthy adversary, one to embrace, and one to sing with. A scene here has Claudia talking to her other children (Alván Prado and Emma Corbacho) through an antique box. That is just one of the zany scenes in They Will Be Dust that artsy people are so extra. I call They Will Be Dust extra because of its music – yes this is a musical about euthanasia and it’s awesome.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Drama, musical
- Release Date: 9/7/2024
- Directed by: Carlos Marques-Marcet
- Starring: Alfredo Castro, Alván Prado, Ángela Molina, Emma Corbacho, Manuela Biedermann, Mònica Almirall, Valeria Scheilen
- Written by: Carlos Marques-Marcet, Clara Roquet, Coral Cruz
- Studio: Alina Film, Kino Produzioni, Lastor Media
