23/11/2023 - Zara Zerny’s feature debut is a moving documentary that speaks about love and death, and does so with shocking beauty and honesty

These days, it’s getting harder and harder to find films using a simple cinematic language but conveying powerful emotions while also touching on universal themes such as death and love, and steering clear of rhetorical trappings. Without mincing words, Zara Zerny’s debut feature, Echo of You [+see also:
trailer
film profile], is one of these rare gems, and indeed one of the best documentaries of this year’s festival season.

The feature world-premiered in the Luminous section of this year’s IDFA and zooms in on a group of Danish men and women, all aged 80 or over. They don’t know each other, but what they share is that they have all lost their life partner. Through controlled interviews, they each begin disclosing their thoughts about their life as a couple and their loved ones. They touch on a variety of topics: how they met, what they loved about each other, the small things in their everyday lives, but also the darkest aspects of their relationship, including infidelity, making difficult choices and moments of hardship.

But Zerny’s documentary is not just a simple talking heads-based one. The protagonists’ words are accompanied by abstract, dreamy images and some poetic scenes where they interact with their memories, often via old home videos or photographs projected on a wall. Although the feature sports a considerable number of protagonists (nine in total), Zerny’s direction and Sofie Steenberger’s careful editing manage to allot the right amount of screen time to each of them. We get to know them well enough to recognise – and remember throughout – their backgrounds, the lifestyles they lead (or led) and their life partners.

Speaking is both painful and cathartic for them. Their feelings and emotions are plain to see on screen, and they hit us hard. There are literally dozens of beautiful moments and revelations stemming from their testimonies, and they are all so relatable. For example, when Rene buys flowers, he always ends up thinking about the colour his wife would have chosen if she were alive. When he watches the TV in his living room, Peter still feels the presence of his wife, as if she is sitting next to him in her armchair. When he opens her wardrobe, he can still smell her scent.

Furthermore, the whole viewing experience is emotionally enhanced by the powerful soundscape, courtesy of composer Viktor Dahl, and sound designers Teis Syvsig and Bobby Salomon. Jacob Sofussen’s pristine cinematography is of a striking beauty, especially when it captures the subjects’ visages, their houses and their interactions with their memories. His gaze is intimate, yet so respectful.

Like a great orchestra conductor, Zerny pieces together a small, non-fiction masterpiece, exploiting her crew’s potential to the fullest and choosing a group of protagonists who can teach us much about grief and love through their wide array of experiences. Besides this, her narrative approach remains clear, linear and highly appealing for a huge potential audience spanning multiple generations.

The end sequence gives us the feeling that these nine widows and widowers are one, and that, against all odds, they have all tried to carry on with their lives, while acknowledging that their wounds will never fully heal.

Echo of You was produced by Denmark’s Manna Film. Syndicado handles its international sales.