A cringe-worthy tragicomedy about family, loss, and responsibility. David returns to Buenos Aires and learns that his mother wants to turn off his father's ventilator. Amongst the absurd encounters, fleeting affairs, and a family that makes light of rather than talk about feelings, he looks for support.
David sits in front of his laptop. He googles: "How long can someone survive in a coma?" Then he clicks on, to a gay porn video. And in the end, he sends a voice message to his ex to inform him that he’s taken his toothbrush. It is with such a mixture of melancholy and awkward humour that MOST PEOPLE DIE ON SUNDAYS captures life in all its contradictions. Director and lead actor Iair Said processes the death of his own father and shows that death, as well as being emotional, also comes with responsibility and high costs attached—especially in a country like Argentina, plagued as it is by economic crises. Between curious doctor's visits and unsuccessful driving lessons, David finds comfort in small moments such as Passover with his family. The film depicts queer existence beyond the conventional coming-out narratives, breaking in the process with hegemonic body images and speaking bittersweetly of the fear that accompanies us all: that of being alone.
Text: Esther Göttert
Supporting film: THE DOLL (Guido Segal, AR 2023, 14 min)
Credits
original title Most People Die On Sundays
international title Most People Die On Sundays
german title Most People Die On Sundays
JFBB section KINO FERMISHED
country/countries AR, IT, ES
year 2024
duration 73
Iair Said
BIO Iair Said, Buenos Aires, 1988. He graduated as a scriptwriter at Patricio Vega's school. His first short film "9 vacunas" won the BAFICI 2013 and the "Black PearlAward" for best short film at Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2012, having participated in more than 30 festivals. His second short film "Imperfect Present" was selected in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2015 and at BAFICI, among other festivals. His first film " Flora´s life is no pic-nic " was shown for 9 months at the MALBA Museum, Buenos Aires.
