Sunday's Illness (2018) Plot Summary Explained

Chiara reappears at Anabel's dinner party as a catering staff member. While the exact reason for her return after three decades is not explicitly stated, the narrative reveals she is terminally ill and wants something specific from her mother before she dies. Her request to spend ten days together appears to be connected to her deteriorating health and her desire for closure, though she refuses to explain her true intentions throughout their time together.

Foreshadowing: The film hints at Chiara's illness early through her unusual behavior and cryptic statements, but the full revelation comes later during the mushroom tea scene.

• Chiara return
• estranged daughter
• why came back
• terminal illness
• reconnection

Chiara makes an enigmatic request that she whispers to Anabel near the end of their time together. This request prompts Anabel to travel to Paris to meet Chiara's father. The specific wording of the request is not revealed in the summary, but it leads Anabel to the farmhouse lake where she assists Chiara in ending her life. Chiara tells her mother this is the only thing she wants, and if Anabel refuses, she can simply leave.

Foreshadowing: Chiara's cryptic statement that she does not want or need forgiveness hints that her request goes beyond traditional reconciliation.

• Chiara request
• what she wants
• final wish
• euthanasia
• assisted death

Anabel agrees to help Chiara die because her daughter is terminally ill and this is what Chiara explicitly requests. After 35 years of abandonment, Anabel feels a profound sense of guilt and debt. This final act can be seen as her attempt at redemption or at least one meaningful choice she makes for her daughter, despite having abandoned her. The film presents this not as a heroic act but as a tragic culmination of their complicated relationship, filled with unresolved emotions.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Anabel's guilt and her younger daughter's urging her to treat Chiara kindly, showing Anabel's desire to make amends.

• Anabel helps Chiara
• lake scene
• guilt
• redemption
• mother daughter final act

Chiara explicitly states she does not want or seek forgiveness from Anabel. This refusal suggests she has processed her feelings about the abandonment differently than a typical reconciliation narrative. By rejecting forgiveness, Chiara indicates she does not want Anabel to be absolved of guilt or to find closure through reconciliation. Instead, she seems to want something more concrete and final, her request appears to be about having her mother present at the end of her life, not about emotional healing between them.

Foreshadowing: Chiara's statement about not wanting forgiveness early in their ten days establishes the unconventional nature of their reunion.

• forgiveness
• Chiara feelings
• abandonment
• not seeking forgiveness
• closure

The film does not specify Chiara's exact medical condition. She reveals to Anabel that she is gravely ill after sharing the mushroom tea, and Anabel learns more details during a hospital visit. The illness appears to be terminal and advanced enough that Chiara knows she is dying. The focus remains on the emotional and relational implications rather than medical specifics.

Foreshadowing: Chiara's excessive drinking and passing out for over a day at the party could hint at her declining health, though this is ambiguous.

• Chiara illness
• terminal disease
• sick
• health condition
• dying

Chiara shares the mushroom tea with Anabel during the chaotic aftermath of the party incident. This moment serves as the vehicle for Chiara's revelation about her terminal illness. The psilocybin tea appears to be part of Chiara's process, perhaps seeking a profound experience or simply creating a setting where she can reveal her diagnosis. The scene marks a turning point where the underlying tension shifts from relational uncertainty to the gravity of Chiara's health.

Foreshadowing: The local party and Chiara's intoxication set the stage for this vulnerable confession moment.

• mushroom tea
• psilocybin
• revelation
• confession
• turning point

During Anabel's trip to Paris to meet Chiara's father, he mentions that he had offered help to Chiara but she declined. The reason for her refusal is not explicitly explained. Given her overall demeanor throughout the film, cryptic, distant, and set on a specific course, it appears Chiara chose to handle her situation on her own terms rather than accept assistance from her father. This refusal further emphasizes her independent and perhaps resigned approach to her impending death.

Foreshadowing: Chiara's earlier statement that she does not want forgiveness establishes her pattern of rejecting offers of help or reconciliation.

• Chiara father Paris
• refused help
• declined assistance
• estranged father

Chiara remains deliberately cryptic about her true intentions and desires throughout the ten days. She refuses to explain why she appeared after 35 years or what she ultimately wants from Anabel. This silence creates tension and uncertainty. It appears Chiara is not interested in reconciliation in the traditional sense, she wants something specific and final, not an emotional reunion. Her secrecy may also protect her from having her mother try to change her mind or intervene in her plans.

Foreshadowing: The persistent tension between the two women during the ten days stems from this lack of clarity about Chiara's motives.

• Chiara secrets
• intentions
• hidden motives
• why silent
• mysterious

In the climactic ending, Anabel undresses Chiara and carries her into the lake at the countryside home. She gently immerses her daughter in the water and holds her there until Chiara's struggling ceases. This is an assisted death, Chiara, who is terminally ill, has requested this as her final wish. The film presents this as a deeply ambiguous and tragic moment, neither fully condemned nor glorified. It represents the culmination of their complicated relationship, Anabel's first and final act of motherhood for her abandoned daughter.

Foreshadowing: The enigmatic request, the trip to Paris to learn about Chiara's situation, and Anabel's hasty return all foreshadow this final act.

• lake scene ending
• assisted suicide
• death scene
• Anabel Chiara
• final act

The specific reasons for Anabel's abandonment are not detailed in the summary. She left when Chiara was eight years old and did not maintain contact for over three decades. When Chiara returns as an adult, Anabel clearly carries significant guilt about this abandonment. The film focuses less on the historical reason for the abandonment and more on the emotional consequences and the attempt at some form of closure between them, albeit an unconventional one.

• abandonment
• why left
• Anabel past
• 35 years
• abandoned daughter

Chiara proposes the ten-day stay at her childhood home, and despite suspicions from Anabel's husband and family lawyer about Chiara's motives, Anabel agrees. The purpose appears to be preparation for Chiara's death, she is terminally ill and wants her mother present for her final days. The ten-day period allows tension to build between them while also creating space for Anabel to understand Chiara's situation and ultimately fulfill her final request.

Foreshadowing: The agreement to sign a document waiving familial rights suggests Chiara is not interested in inheritance or legal claims, her purpose is something else entirely.

• ten days
• countryside
• reunion
• spending time together
• childhood home