Someone, somewhere — in a scholarly film journal, say, or on a film blog  — has made a list of memorable cinematic dinner scenes. Charlie Chaplin and the dancing rolls from “The Gold Rush” would be a contender, and Sidney Poitier’s turn as John Prentice in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” should be a no-brainer. Among my favorites is the Marx Brothers downing lunch in “Room Service,” a rare moment of breathlessness in an otherwise desultory entertainment.

The dinner scene in “Pink Moon” is unlikely to become iconic. The debut feature by Dutch filmmaker Floor van der Meulen is too modest a venture, too understated and equivocal, to grab the attention of a mass audience. Yet the moment when Jan (Johan Leysen), a notably content 74-year-old, tells his children that he’s planning to make an early exit from this earthly realm — well, it’s a pointed bit of drama. 

A bit of comedy, too. Ms. Van der Muelen and screenwriter Bastiaan Kroeger haven’t contrived a gut-wrenching picture, though strong emotions pepper the narrative. Neither is “Pink Moon” a polemic about euthanasia. Indeed, much of the tension in the film, and much of its humor, derives from the conflicting feelings engendered when the best intentions of a liberal society are put to the test.

The good liberals of this close-knit group of upper-middle class Dutchmen certainly are. Jan’s daughter Iris (Julia Akkermans) works for a nongovernmental agency dealing with climate change and its effect on the global water supply. What Iris’s brother, Ivan (Eelco Smits), does is unclear, but he’s a good citizen with 2.5 children and a dutiful wife (Anniek Phiefer). Life is pretty good — that is, until dad throws a wrench into the works.

In an interview accompanying the film, Ms. van der Meulen is asked just what it is about “Pink Moon” that makes it typically Dutch. The pragmatism of its characters, she insists. Jan, his son, and his daughter-in-law are nothing if not practical. When exactly does Jan intend to mix that mysterious white powder into his yogurt for a last meal? Let’s check our phones and see what day on the calendar works best for everyone’s schedule.

This last moment is funny, not least because Iris, the emotional fulcrum of the movie, is aghast at everyone’s matter-of-factness. She gamely plays along and does what she can to respect her father’s wishes. Later in the story, father, daughter. and son run through the protocol of what to do upon discovering Jan’s dead body. In a back-and-forth worthy of Laurel and Hardy, they discover that the to-do list is more complicated than anyone realized.

Much of the humor in “Pink Moon” elicits discomfort as well as laughter, as when Jan gives Iris and Ivan color-coded stickers in order to claim items they are interested in inheriting. Ivan is prompt and decisive in doing so; Iris, less so. Jan looks on in a disconsolate manner. Awkward only begins to describe the scene.

Ultimately, “Pink Moon” concentrates on the relationship between father and daughter. Iris moves back into the family home, hoping to chip away at Jan’s resolve. Food is a tactic — her lasagna is renowned — as is kidnapping. Deep into the movie, Iris hijacks Jan for a road trip to Slovenia. They spend quality time hiking through a snowy landscape that is, in its craggy contours and stoic immovability, reminiscent of Jan himself.

Ms. Van der Meulen films the proceedings with a gratifying — I won’t say pragmatism; let’s call it a remove, one that, though workmanlike, is nonetheless attuned to tenderness. The cast is uniformly good, but it is Mr. Leyman who deserves special commendation. For a movie with a topic as hot-button as this one, more than a modicum of equipoise was necessary to avoid either the maudlin or the sensational. His performance as Jan does much to help Ms. Van der Meulen and Mr. Kroeger toe that fine line.