Before What Comes After
(Le Dernier Souffle)
Dir. by Costa-Gavras | France | 100 Mins
Starring Kad Merad, Denis Podalydès, Charlotte Rampling, Hiam Abbass [Succession], and Karin Viard .
BEFORE WHAT COMES AFTER celebrates life through the lens of death, by renowned auteur Costa-Gavras.
What begins as a chance encounter during a routine checkup evolves into a profound friendship between acclaimed philosopher Fabrice Toussaint (Denis Podalydès, The President's Wife, AF FFF24) and head of palliative care Doctor Augustin Masset (Kad Medrad, The Big Hit, AF FFF21).
Step into several stories that explore the beauty, dignity, and humanity in how we face the inevitable. Through the lens of different cultures, customs, and personal choices, BEFORE WHAT COMES AFTER invites you to reflect, connect, and even find joy in the conversation we so often avoid. Thoughtful, moving, and unexpectedly uplifting—come see a film that reminds us that in understanding death, we truly embrace life.
Dialogical and Socratic in tone, yet never stuffy, this film lyrically grapples with unanswerable questions, responding to our existential fears with love and care. In the spirit of groundbreaking philosophical films like My Dinner with André, Costa-Gavras deftly teaches without instructing. Daring to ask life's biggest questions, BEFORE WHAT COMES AFTER invites us to listen closely—the answers may surprise us.
QUOTES
“End-Of-Life Drama Is Softly Reflective And Profoundly Moving.”
- DEADLINE
“A truly marvelous film, screening in competition in San Sebastian. It's about dying. Not at the end of a gun barrel, but in the normal course of things.”
- MOVIE FORUMS
“Costa Gavras delivers an ultimately uplifting film falling halfway between pedagogical tragicomedy and rugged yet truthful philosophical tale on the eminently delicate subject of death.”
- CINEUROPA
“Therapeutic cinema at it’s finest.”
- DMOVIES
“A truly marvellous film!”
- DEADLINE
