Synopsis
A personal portrait of Van der Keuken’s sister Joke, who died of cancer. Eight days before her death, the filmmaker and his wife had an openhearted conversation with her and filmed it. Two days before her death, a second shorter conversation followed. Van der Keuken also filmed Joke’s own surroundings: her house, garden, daughters and paintings.
A word from Tënk
Her last words… It’s his sister… He’s behind the camera, and we hear him agree, questioning Yoka who has cancer and will undoubtedly die soon. The images we see are in the present, but anticipate the final scenario. The film wrestles with the eternal present of cinema to allow what’s tragic to emerge. Can the present offer us the myth as it’s being written? As the conversation progresses, the story of this brother and sister looms like an old-fashioned novel. One shot summarises all the emotion of this frantic quest: van der Keuken films his niece in front of an orchestra that’s playing and that she runs. The camera moves around her, deciding how to film her, and we sense the director and his niece at the height of the shot. A little awkward, she describes her work organising the orchestra’s logistics, and the music plays on behind her. What is there to say? How do you appear in a film about your mother’s death? This devastating question challenges cinema, which here reaches the pinnacle of Art.
Claire Simon
Filmmaker
