Chilean Quirky Drama FAMILY LIFE by Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jiménez Coming Soon to U.S. Screens and VOD

New York-based distribution company Monument Releasing has announced the U.S. theatrical and VOD release of Family Life / Vida de familia, the poignant drama directed by Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jiménez, two of Chile’s most praised filmmakers of their generation, and co-written by Alejandro Zambra, “Latin America's new literary star” (The New Yorker), based on his own story. A favorite at the Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals, the film opens Friday, June 9 at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, followed by other U.S. cities, available on TVOD on August 1, and on Amazon Prime on September 1.

When a married couple decides to move to France with their young daughter for a few months, they ask a distant cousin, Martín, to housesit and take care of their cat. At 40 years old, Martín has no kids, no wife, and no job. Despite Martín’s brooding and strange demeanor, the family dismisses any doubts they have and leave the house in his care. Left to his own devices, Martín spends his days indoors chain-smoking, looking through their belongings, trying on their clothes, and moving the furniture around how he likes. Slowly, Martín becomes seduced by the idea of family life, treating the house as if it’s his own. 

One day, the cat goes missing. Martín goes out searching for him and falls for Pachi, an attractive single mother. He brings her to the house and wins her over by posing as a divorcee who doesn’t get to see his daughter because of his vindictive ex-wife. Before long, Pachi is bringing her young son over to the house, turning their casual fling into domestic bliss. As the imminent return of the real family gets closer and closer, Martín’s pseudo-family begins to unravel.

Hailed as "a witty and poignant drama” (Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter), the fourth feature film by both Jiménez (Optical Illusions, Bonsái, Voice Over), and Scherson (Play, Turistas, Il Futuro), and their first collaboration together, Family Life is at once a quirky melancholic drama, an unconventional and profound study of living vicariously, and a playful take on solitude, love, and the perils of male insecurity.