A Decent Man (German: Nichts passiert, lit. “No harm done”) is a 2015 Swiss film written and directed by Micha Lewinsky. It follows a family holiday disrupted by a serious incident. The film premiered at the 2015 Zurich Film Festival and won Best Screenplay at the 2016 Swiss Film Awards.
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Synopsis
During a ski holiday in the Swiss Alps, Thomas hopes for a peaceful break with his family, even after Sarah, the daughter of his boss, joins them. When the two teenagers get into trouble with local youths, Thomas avoids confronting the situation. His efforts to keep everything calm instead deepen the family’s difficulties and draw him further into deception.
Cast
The cast includes:
Devid Striesow as Thomas Engel
Maren Eggert as Martina Engel
Lotte Becker as Jenny Engel
Annina Walt as Sarah Orlov
Stéphane Maeder as Ruedi
Background
Lewinsky described the film as a personal project and said he wanted it to prompt discussion about sexual abuse and the responsibility of witnesses to act. He said he was particularly interested in the question of where culpability begins and at what point a witness becomes complicit by failing to intervene. In preparing the film, he consulted the victim support centre Schlupfhuus.
Reception
Awards and nominations
In 2015, the film won the award for best screenplay at Kinofest Lünen. In 2016, it won best actor and the special prize for young actress at the Open Air International Film Festival in Saranda. At the 2016 Swiss Film Awards, it was nominated for Best Fiction Film and Best Actress, and won Best Screenplay.
Critical response
Filmdienst praised the film’s screenplay and casting, describing it as a blackly comic tragicomedy and a psychological portrait of a conflict-averse man. SRF wrote that the film moves from comic beginnings to an increasingly oppressive mood as Thomas’s attempts to preserve family harmony lead him into a growing web of lies. It praised Devid Striesow’s performance in the lead role and also commended the ensemble cast.
Festival screenings
The film premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in September 2015. It was later screened at festivals including the Guadalajara International Film Festival, the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, the Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival in 2016.