The Schneider family’s carefree dynamic is unexpectedly jeopardized when Hedi, the endearingly quirky matriarch, starts having panic attacks, leaving the family to navigate the unfamiliar depths of depression in this offbeat dramedy.
Hedi Schneider is a happy-go-lucky thirty-something with an untarnished outlook on life. With her equally eccentric husband Uli and young son Finn in tow, the trio take on the world together. But suddenly Hedi gets stuck. First literally, when the elevator she’s in breaks down between floors, then emotionally, when a co-worker and her son make her question her own mortality. Her stasis comes to a boiling point during one frantic night, when she experiences her first panic attack, sending her down the rabbit hole of depression. At first her family stands by her side as she confronts her endless anxieties, but when Hedi begins relying on heavy anti-depressants to make it through the day, it starts to take its toll on the once unbreakable family. In her sophomore feature, writer-director Sonja Heiss tackles the taboo topic of depression with a masterful balance of compassion and much needed humour. Featuring a brilliant performance by the magnetic Laura Tonke, Hedi Schneider Is Stuck is an authentic ode to the uncertainties of life.
DIRECTOR: Sonja Heiss CAST: Laura Tonke, Hans Löw, Leander Nitsche LANGUAGE: German COUNTRY: USA, France YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 92 min
