They Will Be Dust

"In the opening, single-take shot of They Will Be Dust, choral music surrounds a flailing elderly woman, who is cornered and pushed around by family members and paramedics, until they all seem to be engaged in a poetic modern dance. This sets the scene for Carlos Marques-Marcet’s latest feature, co-written by the director, Coral Cruz and Clara Roquet, which goes for broke in all its sincerity and quirkiness — and succeeds. The filmmaker’s drama, which is also part-operetta and filled with contemporary dance, world-premiered in Toronto's Platform section and also just secured the top prize in that strand, the 2024 TIFF Platform Award. [--]

The aforementioned elderly woman is the terminally ill Claudia (a versatile, spell-binding Ángela Molina), who lives with her longtime partner Flavio (Alfredo Castro) and their caring but deeply worried adult daughter, Violeta (Mònica Almirall). Under the guise of the couple’s wedding, Claudia and Flavio gather Violet and their other two adult children, Manuel (Alvan Prado) and Lea (Patricia Bargello), for one final hurrah, as they intend to travel to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide, together: Claudia, for her terminal illness, and Flavio, for his desire not to live without his beloved."

Olivia Popp, Cineuropa