Film / Zurich

Zürich (original title: Und morgen Mittag bin ich tot, translates to And tomorrow at noon I'll be dead) is a German movie starring Liv Lisa Fries. It deals with assisted suicide.

Lea (22) is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis and needs an oxygen concentrator to breathe. Even the smallest physical activities are a strong struggle for her. Her brother had the same disease and died years ago after a failed lung transplant. Being hopeless in her situation, Lea decides to end her life by assisted suicide. As this is illegal in Germany, she travels to Zürich, Switzerland without the knowledge or consent of her family. She finally informs her sister Rita, her mother Hannah and her grandmother Maria via text message about her plans to end her life on her 23rd birthday at 12 noon and wants them to be with her on her last journey. Her ex-boyfriend (Heiner) also finds out about this and comes to Zürich. There Lea meets Moritz which she befriends. He came to Zürich to end his life too because of psychic problems, but he's denied permission (there are strict regularities in Switzerland for assisted suicide). Lea learns that her family strongly opposes her plans and wants her to to keep fighting for her life. A struggle begins between Lea and her family.

Warning: As you can guess from the set-up, there will be absolute mega-spoilers. Only uncover them if you're sure you can deal with them.

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This film contains examples of:

• An Aesop: Assisted suicide is morally acceptable and a way to end one's life with dignity, as long as it's the person own will and they got a terminal disease.
• Bittersweet Ending: Lea finally dies in the end and everybody is in big mourning. However, she could die peacefully and without pain and in touch with her family, which finally comes to make peace with Lea's decision.
• Blatant Lies: In the very beginning of the movie, Swiss border authorities question Lea why she wants to visit Switzerland. She answers that she's going on a vacation.
• Bungled Suicide: Moritz has tried to cut his wrists three times but failed. He shows his injuries.
• Carpe Diem: Lea plans to die but she still is quite upbeat (whenever her disease allows it) and enjoys the day before her birthday with Moritz and dinner with her family.
• Character Development: Most notably Lea's mother. She's in a state of shock when she learns about Lea's plans and urgently wants her to change her mind. She even physically assaults Rita (Lea's sister) out of despair. When she finally learns that Lea never even has applied for a lung transplant, she seemingly changes her mind and reluctantly accepts her decision. She even helps her drinking the poison. With her last words, Lea thanks her mother for being present.
• The Cynic: Moritz at least starts out as this. He has strong depressions, a very negative outlook on life and can only keep himself above the threshold with drawing. When he meets Lea, he befriends her and is able to express his feelings on life. Whether he turns back to cynicism or takes a level in idealism is left to the viewer's interpretation.
• Death Is Such an Odd Thing: A strong implication of the very last scene (see Flashback Cut below). The scene is very short and abruptly ends, so does the movie. The viewer is left with the impression that it's really not fair that Lea is not permitted to live a life like everybody else but it's still better to end it on your own will than to painfully continue it without any point. And although the shortness of the scene seems to be a metaphor for the brevity and fragility of life as a whole, her life still counts because she enjoyed her last hours as far as possible and she reconnected with her family.
• Death Seeker: Moritz. He wants to die because of unspecified psychic problems (probably depression) but is denied permission for assisted suicide. He reveals to Lea that he already has attempted suicide at least three times but does not try again, as far as we see.
• Diabolus ex Machina: Lea's mother keeps searching for a cure of Lea's disease. She finally gives up on this after she learns that Lea never applied for a lung transplant. She's visibly shocked about this and bursts out in tears.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Lea dies in the arms of her mother.
• Died on Their Birthday: Lea intends to end her life on her 23rd birthday. She does exactly as she plans.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Zigzagged. While certainly Lea's days are numbered and she is willing to exit life better now than later, she's in no way desperate. Also she needs no help to enjoy her final days, only people around her, who accept her decision. This works for Moritz, her grandmother (she even organizes a vehicle so that Lea can cross the border) and in some degree for her sister, but her mother wants her to continue fighting and her ex-boyfriend calls her out as stupid.
• Driven to Suicide: The whole point of the movie. However, both Lea and Moritz do not want to kill themselves without assistance. Moritz' mother is revealed to have committed suicide long ago.
• Dying as Yourself: Lea's motivation. She strongly believes that continuing living only causes more suffering and postpones what is inevitable. So she sees assisted suicide as method to keep her dignity in her last moments When she finally succeeds and dies without pain, she even puts out her oxygen concentrator as a symbol that she's not dependent on it anymore (she needed it for all of her life).
• Face Death with Dignity: A major theme in the movie is dying with dignity. After her mental breakdown, Lea looks into the mirror and unambiguously sees that she has to stick with her decision and if she wants her death to be dignified, she must show no grief when it's time to exit life. Outside the institute, where her death takes place, she takes a moment to behold the beauty of nature and watches some random people playing basketball. After she has drunk the poison, she calmly lays back into her mother's arms, removes her oxygen concentrator and slowly falls asleep.
• Fade to Black: In the very last scene, Lea (as a child) blows out the candles of her birthday cake and the movie fades to black and immediately ends.
• Fade to White: In the first Happy Flashback, Lea is still a child and plays with her siblings in the snow. The scene ends with a fade to white.
• Fauxshadow: There are many instances where it looks like Lea might change her decision or can't proceed. There is the arrival of her opposing family, her friendship with Moritz, the day before her birthday (which she enjoys) and the spoiler:ID problem.
• Finagle's Law: Shortly before the end, Lea cuts her ID card with scissors to make peace with her decision. This becomes problematical by the end, because, Michaela Orff of the institute initially refuses to hand her over the poison without identification. This is subverted in the end: luckily Rita has kept the remaining parts of the ID and Orff proceeds.
• Flashback Cut: The very last scene of the movie: Immediately after her death, Lea and he brother appear in a flashback from their childhood and it's Lea's birthday again. She blows out the candles of her birthday cake and the movie abruptly ends.
• Gallows Humor:
  • When Moritz reveals that he has tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrists, he shows his cuts (there are two of them). He calls them "Nile" and "Mississippi". As the former cut is shorter than the latter, Lea points out that this should be the other way round and gets called a smartass for it.
  • On the evening before her birthday (= the date of her scheduled death) she has a dinner with her family. She starts joking around that it'll be the last time. This strongly upsets her ex-boyfriend. Although they share some kisses afterwards,he finally decides to not be present when she dies.
• A Good Way to Die: Lea believes that assisted suicide is this for her. The institute gives her the opportunity but only with very strict regulations. Her reasoning behind her plan is to die with dignity. She does not want to die suffocating helplessly but through her own choice and on her own volition. In the end, she has a mental breakdown when she's faced with the poison, but she gets over it and sticks to her decision.
• Happier Home Movie: In the Flashback Cut in the very end of the film, we see a short home movie (filmed by Rita) where Lea celebrates her birthday as a child together with her long dead brother.
• Happily Failed Suicide: Averted with Moritz. He reveals that he already attempted suicide (by cutting his wrists). While he failed, he's anything but happy.
• Happy Flashback.
  • In the beginning of the movie, Lea and her siblings are playing in the snow as children.
  • Again, the Flashback Cut (see above). Lea and her brother celebrate her birthday when she's still a child. We already know that she will die and so will her brother (he had a failed lung transplant some time between the flashback and the events of the movie).
• Heroic BSoD: Both Lea and her mother have one.
  • Lea's mother learns that Lea never applied for a lung transplant. She completely breaks down, runs away in tears and even slaps Rita's face. She eventually gets over it.
  • Lea breaks when she is faced with the poison. She gets over it, when she goes to the bathroom and looks into the mirror.
• Hope Spot: Lea's mother believes that Lea still has hope to overcome her disease. She has not.
• Imagine Spot: Shortly before Lea crosses the border to Switzerland, she sees a motorcycle racer. She imagines that it's her who is driving and wonders why she was denied a normal life like everybody else.
• Internal Reveal: Lea's mother strongly believes that Lea can be saved by a lung transplant. Later Lea confesses that she did not apply for a lung transplant when she had the chance and now it's too late. This leads to her mother finally accepting her daughter's decision to die.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Lea comes to the conclusion that the only way to end her suffering is to end her life. Although she goes through a breakdown, she never regrets her decision.
• Last Request: Two of them.
  • Lea wants to have a last dinner with her family and her ex boyfriend. This happens as she wishes.
  • After suffering a mental breakdown, Lea requests to take the poison outside in the open air. Her wish is granted.
• Like You Were Dying: Although Lea knows that she won't have much time anymore, she doesn't really change so much, making this a Downplayed Trope. She acknowledges this trope however when talking with her doctor or when eating out for presumably the last time.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Downplayed with Lea, as she shows some traits of this, despite being terminally ill. Moritz is very cynical until he meets her but they soon befriend each other and he gets to chance to tell her about his problems and seems to cheer up a bit. In the end, he just leaves, without a definite answer if he will go on with his life or still commit suicide.
• Mercy Kill: The whole point of the Swiss organization for assisted suicide (it's legal there). Lea's endless suffering causes her to want to end her life. She does not want to commit suicide alone but with the presence of her family. Michaela Orff of the institute finally hands her over the poison after repeatedly asking her if she really wants to to it.
• Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Lea wants to reunite with her family before her death.
• Not Afraid to Die: Lea doesn't show any sings of fear when it comes to death. She however suffers a strong mental breakdown when she's faced with the poison. She goes to the bathroom and while she looks in the mirror, she realizes that drinking it is the only way, so she does. Moritz starts as a Death Seeker and probably turns into this trope too when he leaves with his father by the end.
• The Not-Love Interest: Moritz is this to Lea. They slowly befriend each other after a tough start and it seems that they might become a pair but Moritz suddenly leaves without his fate being revealed. Lea lampshades this by saying they could not have become a couple anyhow, seeing what both their situation is.
• Oh, and X Dies: The German title tells us that Lea will die. Is this true, a tease or is the creator just lying to us? Read the spoilers to find out.
• Peaceful in Death: Lea dies with a strong relief. This seems to be enforced, because the movie wants to show that assisted suicide is nothing bad at all if greater suffering can be prevented and it's the person own and free choice.
• Single Tear: When Lea dies, there's exactly one tear emerging from her eyes, not more, not less.
• Stock Visual Metaphors: In the Flashback Cut (see above) in very last scene of the movie, Lea blowing out the candles of her birthday cake as a child is of course a metaphor for dying.
• Suicide Is Painless: Lea is completely positive about taking assisted suicide, and when she dies, it's completely painless and she just falls asleep.
• Suicide is Shameful: Heiner is a believer of this trope and calls her out as being stupid and stubborn. Lea, by contrast, firmly believes that there's absolutely nothing wrong with ending your life if suffering is too big (she even extends this to Moritz, who is not terminally ill but has strong psychological problems). Heiner eventually refuses to be with her when she dies in the end.
• The Tag: The Flashback Cut again. Immediately after her death, Lea and he brother appear in a flashback from their childhood and it's Lea's birthday again. She blows out the candles of her birthday cake and the movie abruptly ends.
• To Be Lawful or Good: The movie takes part in the discussion if assisted suicide is morally justified or not. It's strongly suggested that the movie is heavily in favor of it and wants to make people aware that banning it only makes suffering worse.
• Undignified Death: Lea's motivation from the start is to defy this trope and exit life with ease and dignity. She has witnessed how her brother died painfully and does not want to meet the same fate. Also she does not want to be afraid of suffocating or falling into coma ever again.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Lea and Moritz are obviously attracted to another but both their situations keeps them apart.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: We never learn what happens to Moritz. He is last seen when he goes on board of a ship together with a man who is supposedly his father. How his story continues is not revealed.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Lea is terminally ill and knows it. Doctors give her an absolute maximum of six months.

Spoiler Tropes (Warning!)

• The Hero Dies: Lea dies in the end by her own hand, but the story still portrays it as rather a Bittersweet Ending than a Downer Ending.
• Spoiler Title: The German title translates to And tomorrow at 12 noon I'll be dead. You should know already that this is exactly what happens, even the time doesn't seem to be far off. Doubles up with Foregone Conclusion and Exactly What It Says on the Tin.