It is the story of a woman who can no longer cope with a life that no longer makes sense to her. Denial is futile, as the truth always breaks through even the most beautiful facade.

The idea came to Lucky a couple of years ago after reading The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture, written by physician Gabor Maté with his son Daniel, which examines mental health and how society defines a “normal” person. The book resonated with the director, who was at the time going through a “quite unexplained” muscle pain following the release of his previous film, Dear David (2023).

Turns out, the Latin phrase “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body) rings true to this day; as does the reverse.

“Our body is very intelligent,” Lucky said during an interview on July 23. “It can tell you there’s something wrong in the way we lead our lives, and that can manifest in the form of any kind of warning, such as illness.”

He also pondered the definition of “normal”.

“Is there something that we might need to reexamine to make sure that we are living our true, authentic self? Because oftentimes, illness is the consequence of misalignment between the self.”

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