The Friend (2008)
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A young man makes a commitment to a pop singer on whom he has a crush - only to run headfirst into unforeseeable circumstances - in Swiss director Micha Lewinsky's gentle, offbeat seriocomedy Der Freund. For Emil Funk (Philippe Graber), Zurich-based musician Larissa Mahler (Emilie Weltie) is the essence of appeal and desirability; after watching her perform, he dreams of meeting her. The young man sees his wish come true in the form of a brief encounter with Larissa, but must contend with a bizarre request: she asks him to "pretend" to be her boyfriend. Emil obliges but grows understandably confused when Larissa disappears, then suddenly dies the next day. Recognizing the value of a commitment, he insists on standing by her family as an emotional anchor and guiding them through a period of intense sorrow - which draws him into a close and unexpected bond with Larissa's sister, Nora (Johanna Bantzer). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Philippe Graber - Emil Funk
- Andrea Burgin - Maria Mahler
- Emilie Welti - Larissa Mahler
- Patrick Serena - Gion
- Urs Jucker - Bestatter
- Michèle Müller - Studentin 1
- Pascal Holzer - Student
- Verena Zimmermann - Grossmutter
- Hirondelles Marseille - Schule Frankreich
- Johanna Bantzer - Nora Mahler
- Michel Voita - Jean-Michel Mahler
- Therese Affolter - Edith Funk
- Christopher Novak - Barmann
- Oriana Schrage - Floristin
- Vera Bommer - Studentin 2
- Catriona Guggenbühl - Pfarrerin
- Elisabeth Graf - Krematorium-Angestelite
- Raphelson - Band
- Director(s):
- Micha Lewinsky
- Writer(s):
- Adriane Stalfort, Micha Lewinsky
- Producer(s):
- Bernard Lang, Anne-Catherine Lang, Olivier Zobrist
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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