It has been almost 20 years since Uberto Pasolini was Oscar-nominated for producing "The Full Monty". Here he gives us his second movie as writer and director after the Sri Lancan "Machan" from five years ago. "Still Life" or "Mr. May and the Whisper of Eternity" (literal translation of German title) won awards in all corners of the world you may imagine, from Abu Dhabi over Iceland to Brazil. And you can easily see why. It is a truly heartfelt piece of filmmaking with a lead performance by British actor Eddie Marsan which is the exact definition of quietly convincing. Shame on me for not noticing him in any of his earlier works although I have seen some. To my defense, I have not seen "Happy-Go-Lucky", but this one here certainly makes me curious about it. He really is the heart and soul of the film. The biggest supporting role is Joanne Froggatt who you may know from "Downton Abbey", a show I don't understand the hype about at all, but she was solid here.

His character's death here came as a bit of a shock to me, maybe because it was so sudden and happened the very moment he seemed to have found a possible girlfriend. In retrospective, however, I have to say, it is not surprising at all. Even if he lived, actually, he has been for years more with the dead than with the living. There are more indicators: for example that he is not even seen or perceived by his neighbors while they were arguing and he passes them. Or how his last case is about somebody who lived near him with dead slowly approaching him, regardless of if he knew the person or not. Then there is a general aura of finishing with the way he loses his job or how he is looking for his own place to be buried early on. The relationship to his boss or that one particular scene (one of the best) where he is at a bar or something and looks to a group of people celebrating, it is easy to realize that this is not his world. He does not belong there.

You could certainly say that this is a truly depressing movie for the most part. One scene I found particularly sad was the old woman who wrote a letter to herself pretending to be her daughter going by the name of her cat. This must sound terribly stupid if you have not seen the scene, but the way it was depicted it felt just so tragic, especially with the hope that she may actually have a daughter who cares for her. Then there is also the comment of the landlord about how weird some people are. We should keep in mind that he says this to somebody who wrote hundreds of obituaries for the dead and has a book filled with photos of deceased strangers.

Finally let me say that this is a movie very much worth watching. If it is shown at your corner of the world, take your chance. Yes, as I said before, it is depressing, but the ending is right now probably the most moving (and equally uplifting) scene I have seen all year and there's quite a chance your eyes may wet just like mine did. Very much recommended.

Brilliant, emotional, thought-provoking movie.

The story of a man whose job it is to trace the relatives and friends of deceased people. A dour, methodical, deliberate man, the movie deals mostly with a particular case of his, and the effect it has on him and other people concerned.

From the start the movie makes you think about loneliness and mortality, in particular your own, and what you leave behind. Emotional too, in that you see how people are affected by other people's lives.

Despite all this, the movie seemed to be heading for a predictable and possibly lacklustre ending. However, the final few scenes are among the most powerful, emotional and thought-provoking I've ever seen. Certainly not predictable.

Superb work by Eddie Marsan in the lead role. He was perfect for the role. Good support from Joanne Froggatt.

An understated masterpiece.

Still Life is not a movie to watch when you feel lonely or are a bit down because this movie oozes loneliness. There is not much happiness or joy, not in the characters nor in the job the main character has. Eddie Marsan did a good job playing the lonely meticulous civil servant, looking for relatives of deceased lonely people. He arranges the funerals of those ones that have nobody anymore in their lives, resulting in most cases in being the only one attending the funeral. The story is a bit monotone, but it fits the story well. Nothing wrong about the acting, you couldn't play loneliness better than this. The best part of the movie to me was the ending, very touching, and makes you think about how some people just have nobody in their lives.