Papirosen
Gaston Solnicki spent ten years filming his own family.
They live comfortably in Argentina's upper middle class. They go through divorce, tense family vacations and a lot of spats. Gaston films it all, not afraid to create a warts and all document of his family. After so many years of filming, perhaps his family members never believed he would actually make a film and were desensitised to their own behaviour. There are definitely moments of embarrassment for all of them. And in one moment, his nephew's birthday wish is for him to stop filming.
This is the universal story. But there is also a particular story as well, a particular history. Gaston's grandparents were Holocaust survivors and while they, like most of their generation, don't talk about it much, it weighs heavily. The disfunction and emptiness in the family can all be traced to the suicide of Gaston's grandfather, who in later life was simply too sad to go on.
How everyone negotiates this devastating truth has shaped each relationship and every aspect of life. This is an unusual film in structure, with lots of old home movie footage. It never provides the obvious answers, but it is interesting and carries an impact.