Monika has a fulfilling career as a doctor, she is happy with her partner, and she is expecting a long-awaited child. She gets along well with her former husband Petr, and so she decides to tell him about her pregnancy in person. The two of them had struggled to conceive. They meet up for coffee and a walk. As the afternoon becomes evening, their long, unhurried conversation meanders through many topics that they have never had the time or opportunity to discuss.

Director, screenwriter and editor Bohdan Karásek is a Czech auteur whose playful style reveals affinities with mumblecore, the genre centred on dialogue. While his previous film, Karel, Me and You (CinEast 2019), was about dilemmas faced by thirtysomethings, Everything As It Should Be ponders questions that come with middle age. With a great ear for how people talk, Karásek follows his two main characters, charmingly portrayed by Marie Švestková and Jiří Havelka, as they move through their afternoon talking about what is and what might have been. Eavesdroppers are welcome.

The film enjoyed its world premiere in the Special Screenings section of this year’s Karlovy Vary IFF.