In They Will Become Dust , Carlos Marquez Marcet takes a serious stance, realizing that with so many people treading so carefully on the subject of death, it might not be too much of a stretch to put an elderly couple in ballet shoes if they’re thinking it’s time to choose to leave their mortal world. This unconventional drama proves poignant in more ways than one as it follows a septuagenarian couple who book a one-way trip to Switzerland, and achieves a level of intimacy unusual even for its reliably sensitive director when music and dance can reveal what simple dialogue cannot.
Marquis-Marçais’ approach to his fourth feature may be unexpected, but the subject matter seems inevitable when the director spends his previous three films contemplating different stages of life. After his impressive debut, 10,000 Kilometers , which dealt with a couple too young to understand the issues that long-distance relationships can pose, it’s poignant to watch Marquis-Marçais observe a different kind of distance here. Claudia (Angela Molina) suffers from a degenerative condition that has kept her distant from her husband Flavio (Alfredo Castro) even when they share a bed, and they’re no longer on the same wavelength as they were decades earlier.
Co-written with Clara Roquette and Coral Cruz, They Will Be Dust begins with a single, beautiful shot in which a call to the paramedics to treat a manic episode at Claudia and Flavio’s home turns into a tango between the woman and the paramedics. As impressive as the camerawork and choreography in this scene are, what’s perhaps most striking is that Flavio—as well as their daughter Violeta (Mónica Amiral), who lives with them—are unable to keep up with their work. This disconnect leads not only to the more fantastical elements that occasionally intrude into the drama, but also to the idea that partners are often out of touch with their loved ones when the choice to die can be honored with dignity without fully accepting it.
Naturally, the reactions are mixed among the family, who can’t be happy to learn about Claudia and Flavio’s plans when they were under the impression that they were gathered to witness the couple renewing their vows. Meanwhile, Violeta may feel a little resentful towards her brothers Manuel (Alvan Prado) and Léa (Patricia Bargello), who have had time to start their lives while she has devoted her whole life to taking care of Claudia. They may all be angry with Flavio, who is healthier than his wife but still decides that he can’t go on without her, a sign of devotion that even Claudia can’t appreciate. It’s a tender gesture that, when the characters feel they can’t tell each other, the filmmakers allow them to express their feelings and dance, knowing that at least one audience will hear them.
To make the film more interesting, it could have included a few more musical pieces, as Marquis Marceau has in mind a certain rhythm that the film never quite settles on. However, the musical interludes have a depth of emotion unusual for the screen, with wonderful modern dances by Marcos Mourão and Leigh Vional, which push Claudia into the throes of death when she is surrounded by dancers trying to imitate their unnatural movement.
Composer María Arnal also shines on this occasion with a score that blends the earthly and the celestial, painting a garden scene with an orchestra consisting partly of leaf blowers and pruning shears. It’s one of the unconventional ways many find “They Will Become Dust” to reach emotions, but the feelings it evokes can be surprising in themselves, given that the film takes a very refreshing stance on transition: ambivalent about the afterlife, but certainly not afraid of it. The only sadness that comes from “The End” here is that the film itself is over.
