In 2018, Natalia, Sergei, and their two daughters, Alina and Katja, are living in Sweden, having fled their native Russia. After their asylum application is rejected, Katja falls into a mysterious coma caused by resignation syndrome.
Director Alexandros Avranas was inspired to create the film after reading an article about resignation syndrome in The New Yorker. For his research, he met with Dr. Elisabeth Hultcrantz and Dr. Karl Sallin, leading experts of the condition.[1] Filming began in 2018.[2]
Marc van de Klashorst of the International Cinephile Society gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars and called it "a film that keeps its audience at arm's length, but also one that makes its message resonate and shows that humanity in the end conquers all."[6]
Serena Seghedoni of Loud and Clear Reviews gave the film two out of five stars, calling it "a jumbled mess" and writing, "Alexandros Avranas' Quiet Life doesn't quite know what to do with the fascinating, real-life phenomenon at its center, resulting in a mess of a movie with little to say."[7]
Allan Hunter of Screen Daily called the film "unsetlling" and "coolly intriguing".[8]
