All Of A Sudden

Marie-Lou (Efira) is the director of a Paris aged care home and a proponent of Humanitude – a care philosophy that treats the elderly with a great deal of dignity. This notion is met with resistance by the profit-driven owners of the home, and by some of Marie-Lou’s colleagues who feel overworked as it is and disinclined to take on more complex duties. When Marie-Lou encounters Japanese theatre director Mari (Okamoto), they gradually form a strong friendship, heightened by the fact that Mari is terminally ill. This friendship, and the long conversation it initiates, serves as an entrancing expression of kindness and curiosity. Though the film places an intimate friendship under the microscope, its interests expand broadly into philosophy, capitalism, art, care and mortality. Brilliantly written, with devastatingly heartfelt performances by Efira and Okamoto, All of a Sudden is as transformative as the beautiful friendship it so perfectly depicts.