This film shouldn't be hard to find. It was directed by the wonderful Caroline Link, who won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film with Nowhere in Africa, a moving story about a Jewish family relocating to escape the Nazi regime. She also directed the popular Beyond Silence about the life of a deaf couple with a hearing child. Her third feature film was A Year Ago in Winter, which like the first two was adored by the film festival circuit. It didn't get much exposure in the US outside of New York and probably LA, which again isn't unusual for these types of films. Often to see them, you have to live in a big city or luck out with video on-demand. (And even then, arthouse films are hit-and-miss.) That's how I came across this gem. I just assumed one day I could order the DVD.
And still, no luck. The DVD was only released in Germany, it appears, and no streaming services seem that interested. So I'll have to go off the YouTube trailer and my old notes. There are some longer featurettes about the film, but they are not translated. I remember most of the plot points and character reactions. I don't recall much of the imagery. I guess that will make it all the better when I see it again.
The main character is Lilli, a 21-year old performing arts student, whose "superstar" younger brother Alex had committed suicide one year before. He had given no indication of any distress. Her mother commissions a painter, Max, to paint a portrait of both children next to a piano, drawing Lilli in the flesh and Alex from old photos. So begins a series of meetings between Lilli and Max, as well as with her parents, while she imagines seeing her deceased brother every time she sees a red coat and blond hair. That's it. No disasters, no revelations, no real plot twists. Just an incredibly moving story with likable, flawed characters.
Lilli is played by Karoline Herfurth and I cannot praise her performance enough. She has an endearing vulnerability that helps her convincingly move from appearing in control to becoming an emotional train wreck after a brief romance with an artist. The painter Max is played by Josef Bierbichler who has not quite decided if he wants to give up on life. He has a comfortable existence and still takes his job very seriously. He's not a dirty old man, but he's not immune to Lilli's presence either. The parents have each tried to fit grieving for their son into their busy schedules with limited success.
The movie is based off the American novel Aftermath by Scott Campbell. It's not a terribly original plot, and that could be much of the reason for the critical indifference. There are only two reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. But the acting elevates the story to a point where it can be appreciated beyond the source material. And the director's reputation certainly merits giving this film a chance.
Many European films, or at least the ones that make it here, have characters that end the movie just a little better off than they started. Lilli and Max have not fundamentally changed. Lilli's mood swings aren't going away any time soon, but she is a little wiser and calmer. Max feels a little more alive after exposure to Lilli's unaffected sensuality. The parents come around in different ways. And the final scene contains such poetic simplicity that I don't even want to hint at it. It's perfection on camera.