It's not about mystery.

There appears to be a slight misunderstanding regarding what this film is about. It's not about her late husband Paul's "mystery". It's about overcoming a stroke of fate without having a possibility to grieve, due to having no means for understanding the reasons why the event has happened.

In fact, regarding Paul, there's no mystery at all. He's been leading a sham life, as quite a few people do in real life to various degrees. We, as audience, might wonder about his motives, and there are some clues as to him being a failure at university and probably unable to admit to it. He would presumably also have been a depressed person, unable to truly share his life with others. But all this is speculation, and intentionally so, and to us ultimately of secondary interest anyway.

To Martha of course, understanding his motives would be extremely helpful. Explanations and related rationalization would be a great help for her in putting her emotions into a context and such deal with them. Just like we all try to deal with our emotions in upsetting circumstances, with the help of explanations.

The unique turn this film takes though is that there are no explanations, and never will be. Paul has no family. No friends except her's, as we learn. No fellow students. And of course he did not leave a letter explaining himself.

So the moment Martha realizes that there's no way she could reach - the often cited - closure through this path, what should she do? And it's here that the film's stroke of genius and magical moment happens - she accidentally meets Alexander in an elevator and notices a gesture he's making, stroking back his hair. This is the moment where she starts making the turn, in her very unique and personal way, from looking back to looking forward again.

Then another coincidence happens which makes them both really meet, the common bus ride, and from now on we're invited to witness how lovely Martha's trying to regain her life, in her ultimately optimistic and life loving ways.

Especially, Paul's really not subject of the film anymore. Except the minor point of Martha ultimately being forced to tell Alexander why people are paying condolences to her, as to start footing their relationship on real, healthy and complete trust. And we may well guess that she would eventually have made that confession anyway, even without the pinned photo device.

And except of course her initially trying to find similarities between Paul and Alexander and making slight attempts at modelling Alexander as a "replacement Paul". But that's, as we subsequently understand, just Martha's process of making the aforementioned turn. And - vital to the film's message - never an obsession.

So Paul's really rather forgotten at this point. Has to be, that's what the film's really saying. Because else everybody would just be running in circles.

Especially, there is no mystery. There's only Martha reborn. And Alexander, reborn as well. (And Mignon of course, about to be born;)).


I'm plain loving this film, very much. Once wrote a review about "Brothers (2009)", where I complained about so many films just telling us over and over again about the wounds life's inflicting on us. And never succeeding in showing a believable healing.

So, finally, here it is. A believable healing. Great story, built on authentic and unique characters.