Anyone who knows anything about this film is promised by its premise that it will not be comfortable viewing. Warning: it isn’t. At all. 24 Weeks is one of those films you will only watch once but it’ll stay with you forever. Film doesn’t always have to be fun, but it can be important.

Berrached’s 24 Weeks is without question a bleak affair, excruciating even; it is an unflinching account of a impossible decision, a film that punishes its audience’s judgement of a situation that is never black and white by following the central couple’s agonising process with clinical detail.

24 Weeks is a demanding experience, but a necessary one. Led by two great, transparent performances, Berrached’s drama informs us that some decisions can never just be right or wrong.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf

DIRECTOR: Anne Zohra Berrached

WRITERS: Carl Gerber, Anne Zohra Berrached

SYNOPSIS: After learning that their child will be born with disabilities, a couple must decide what is the best course of action for the child and for themselves. 

24 Weeks was reviewed as part of One Room With A View’s coverage of the 66th Berlinale Film Festival, which runs 11-21 February 2016.