If you are intrigued by the idea of a social drama that doesn’t follow all the tropes that you can expect based on tradition and past cinematic experiences, A Happy Family is for you. After all, the feature debut of Swiss director and writer Jan-Eric Mack features an ambivalent main character, namely a single mother who doesn’t fit neatly into categories of black or white and good or evil.
Complexity instead of moralizing is the motto. Plus, the film takes pleasure in mixing genres, surprising with thriller vibes that many won’t see coming.
A Happy Family, world premiering on Saturday, July 4 at the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), also breaks new ground in another way. It is the first-ever Swiss film in the Czech fest’s Crystal Globe Competition.
The movie about Niki, a mother with two children and two jobs, but no money, explores such themes as poverty and social inequality. After a fire burns down the family’s home and turns their lives upside down, her children are placed in foster care. Banned from contact with them, Niki assumes a new identity to stay close to them.
Mack co-wrote A Happy Family with Anna Schinz, Nikita Afanasjew and Eva Kienholz. Schinz also stars as Niki, with the cast also featuring Julia Jentsch, Bettina Stucky, Michael Neuenschwander, Alireza Bayram and Martina Apostolova.
