English subtitles: Four Minus Three
Four minus three equals one. Barbara learns this the hard way when her family is killed in an accident and she is left alone. How do you cope with such an unimaginably great loss, and what remains of your own identity? The poignant drama Four Minus Three is based on the autobiographical book by Austrian author Barbara Pachl-Eberhart, who used writing to come to terms with her immeasurable grief.
Sometimes fate can take away everything familiar in a single blow. A husband, two children, a happy family: Barbara has her life together. Until her husband and children are killed in a car accident and she is left alone. Even her work as a “CliniClown”, which had once been such a natural part of her life—suddenly no longer fits with the tragedy she is experiencing. What follows is a long, erratic period of mourning, during which Barbara must rediscover who she is.
Just as nonlinear and erratic as grief is, so too is *Four Minus Three* itself. The film jumps back and forth in time, from the raw present to the happy past that seems to be slipping further and further away. The result is not only a film about grief and loss, but also a story about resilience, and how—even after an immeasurable loss—space for meaning can slowly emerge.
