Miss Sharon Jones (2016)

This is a brutally candid documentary about the R&B singer, Sharon Jones, who died in November 2016 from pancreatic cancer.  It is an engaging and sad story that hints at the chaos of cancer and its management.  It is unclear to me how much the medical treatment helped her, although the initial Whipple surgery certainly bought her some time.

Official Trailer.

New York Times Obituary.

The Suicide Tourist

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"Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker John Zaritsky, The Suicide Tourist is a portrait of Craig Ewert's final days as the Chicago native pursues a physician-assisted suicide in the one place where it's legal for foreigners to come to end their lives: Switzerland. With unique access to Dignitas, the Swiss nonprofit that has helped more than 1,000 people die since 1998, The Suicide Tourist follows Ewert as he debates the morality -- and confronts the reality -- of choosing to die before his disease further ravages his body, and he loses the option to die without unbearable suffering."  2010.  55 minutes  Frontline Information and Video Link.

This is a memorable and thought-provoking documentary.

Amour (2012)

This is a beautiful dark film.  It is not Hollywood -- definitely not.  We have a saying in medicine.  "N = 1."  One story here -- and everyone's death is different.  Amour raises many questions.  How can we let this happen?  We have become a culture of isolation.  So many disconnects.

I enjoyed the amazing cinematography.  The first "literary" work in the Western canon is Gilgamesh -- and its theme is death and what comes after.  Death has fascinated man from our earliest memories.

Amour is in the same category as Ikiru.
See it -- it will make you think. Around two hours.
Brian Maurer's review is worth reading. 

How to Die in Oregon (2011)

This is an amazing and important documentary.  The Death With Dignity movement has become politicized.  Politicians and the medical societies seem to want to dictate how the public should be treated. Here in Massachusetts, we have a ballot initiative and the Massachusetts Medical Association recently sent a letter to all doctors urging us to vote against any type of death with dignity program.  Actually initiatives such as the one in Oregon do not require the active participation of a physician -- just a physician's order for Seconal or a similar drug.

"How to Die in Oregon" follows some brave people in their quest for a timely death.  It shows both sides.  One patient found the idea offensive, and strangely his insurance carrier (in his case Medicaid) seemed to suggest that option and he felt it was to save money.

The Death with Dignity movement will gather supporters in many other states.  Washington has followed Oregon's lead, and hopefully the people of Massachusetts will not listen to organized medicine but will allow individual patients to make this decision.

Here is a thoughtful review from the web.  You can get the film at NetFlix  2011  107 minutes

Official Web Site where you can order a copy if you want one.

The Way (2010)

"Filmed on location against the gorgeous landscapes of northern Spain, the spiritual journey of American ophthalmologist Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen) begins as he is called from the comforts of his California home to Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to identify the body of his only son Daniel (Emilio Estevez). Avery elects to walk the Camino on behalf of his son, embarking with Daniel’s ashes which he dutifully portions out along the way." From Brian Maurer's excellent review which appears on his blog.

This fine movie is about grief and growth. Few who watch it will be disappointed. Few will forget it. 2010, 2 hours.

A Single Man (2009)

From Netflix: "This stream-of-consciousness, 1960s-era drama centers on a day in the life of George Falconer (Colin Firth, in an Oscar-nominated role), an English-born, Los Angeles college professor reeling from the recent death of his lover of 16 years. Fashion designer Tom Ford makes his directoral debut with this luminous film, which is based on Christopher Isherwood's novel. Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lee Pace and Nicholas Hoult co-star."  2009   100 minutes

This is a moving film about grief and  loss.  It is sensitively done and a "must see."  The Movie Slut's review says it all. "A Single Man: Better than Brokeback."

The Dead (1987)

Judith Bruder recommends this film and writes us: "The Dead is arguably James Joyce's greatest story, and the film may be John Huston's greatest achievement. (It certainly is his last, as he was dying when he made it). It is simply perfection: the cinematography, the sets, the acting (including Huston's daughter Anjelica), the remarkable adaptation done by Tony Huston, his son.  If God is in the details, The Dead is surely touched by God. It is the slow accumulation of tiny details which opens out in the end to the sweep and meaning of whole lives.

The film is about death and dying, and what it means to live, really live. We come to realize that the passionate dead may remain alive in a way that some of the living breathing characters, most notably Gabriel (a tone-perfect performance by Donal McCann), are not, and perhaps never were. It is also about the inevitable fading that comes with age, even to the most passionate, like Aunt Julia, so in love with music and song.

Unlike current American determination to be young and beautiful forever, the Japanese aesthetic prizes most highly the quality of aware, ephemerality. It is precisely the fact that something will vanish that makes it both beautiful and poignant, hence the Japanese love of  cherry blossoms, for instance. This is the beauty we glimpse in The Dead.

In the end, the snow softly falls, it is late at night, his wife, exhausted, sleeps, and Gabriel's murmured soliloquy ends the film: "Yes, the newspapers were right; snow was general all over Ireland....
"His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."

New York Times Review by Vincent Canby from 1987.

Shadowlands (1993)

NetFlix:  "Renowned children's author C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins), a solemn, middle-aged university professor, becomes romantically entwined with a lively, divorced American poet (Debra Winger) 17 years his junior in this story about the couple's ill-fated love affair. The relationship begins as a platonic friendship, but Lewis realizes his love for the woman when tragedy strikes. Richard Attenborough directs this adaptation of William Nicholson's play."  1993

Here's a thoughtful review of the movie:  Shadowlands: A Review.

DJE:  This is a moving film.  While it may be factually inaccurate, it is still of value for its treatment of death and dying.  Shadowlands is a "must-see."

Ordinary People (1980)

From NetFlix:  Everything is in its proper place in the Jarrett household -- except the past. Mary Tyler Moore scored an Oscar nod for her role as repressed mother Beth Jarrett, whose favorite son has died, leaving her with another (Timothy Hutton) she can barely tolerate. The film also netted four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Redford, in his directorial bow), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for young Hutton.  1980  124 minutes 

DJE:  This is a powerful film that addresses a death in the family and many aspects of grief.  It is well-worth watching. Superb acting.

Departures (2008)

NetFlix: "Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he's been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic relief as Daigo's eccentric mentor in director Yojiro Takita's Oscar-winning, richly detailed -- if unlikely -- drama about finding your bliss."  2008  131 minutes.

DJE:  This is a charming movie that deals with respect for the dead and has some cultural overtones.  It's a gem that is well worth watching.  The acting is understated and memorable.

Eulogy (2004)

This film was brought to our attention by Dr. Amber Wollesen of the PalliMed Arts and Humanities Blog who writes:
Eulogy is a 2004 comedy surrounding a "dysfunctional" family dealing with the death of the family patriarch. I've seen it described as a "black" or "dark" comedy. Probably fits.
The film begins with the family finding out about the death of Edmund Collins and then heading home to his funeral. Some members are upset over the death, some are upset about the inconvenient time. It is focused around the granddaughter Kate, a college freshman (and possibly the most normal person of the group) who has been asked to deliver the eulogy at her grandfather's funeral. Amongst the group of 4 children and 6 grandchildren, Kate seems to be the only one really concerned over Edmund's death. The rest of the family seems preoccupied with their old fights and issues.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, the widow, who is seemingly distraught over the death of her husband and her children feuding, attempts suicide. More than once.
During the course of the film, secrets come out about the surviving family members and about the departed. If I had to sum up the theme of the movie it would be, "We may be screwed up but in the end we're family." I'm not going to give away the end, but Kate finds a way to eulogize the grandfather who no one really ever completely knew. I like the funeral scene.
This film made me think a lot about dysfunctional families. It's not a term I use lightly. After seeing a lot of different types of families, I have begun to think that what we call "dysfunction" is often just functioning differently than the norm. What is normal anyway?

Released in 2004. 97 minutes.

DJE Comment: I saw this movie on June 24, 2009. It's certainly not a serious film about any of the subjects it is indexed under, however, it is entertaining and well-acted. Well worth viewing, but unlikely to be of value for class work or serious discussion.

One True Thing (1998)

From NetFlix: In this adaptation of Anna Quindlen's novel, when tough New Yorker Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger) discovers that her mother (Meryl Streep) has cancer, she quits her job, breaks up with her boyfriend and moves back in with her parents to help out. Wanting nothing more than to ease her mother's suffering, Kate inadvertently uncovers several family secrets, including one about her philandering professor father (William Hurt). Carl Franklin directs. 1998, 128 minutes

This was a memorable film, based on an equally compelling book.

The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

Stricken by famine, the residents of a 19th-century Japanese village decide to banish its elderly population to the top of Mt. Narayama, where they will be left to die. One year shy of her exile, the 69-year-old Orin (Sumiko Sakamoto) must settle some old scores. But her top priority is finding a wife for her eldest son (Ken Ogata). Director Shohei Imamura's multilayered lyrical drama won the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. 1984 130 minutes

This is beautifully filmed and sensitively produced. Not light fare, but worth viewing.

Dying Wish (2008)

"Dying Wish is a documentary about Dr. Michael Miller, an eighty-year old, retired surgeon with end-stage pancreatic cancer who chose to stop eating and drinking in order not to prolong his dying process.

Michael’s “dying wish” was to show others that what is called “patient refusal of nutrition and
hydration” resulted in a gentle death. His own research showed relatively little information on
stopping drinking and eating at the end of a terminal illness. What little research he found
indicated a more humane end. Michael wanted to dispel common misconceptions that the dying person feels hunger and thirst once they choose this very natural route to an expected death. from Dying Wish Website.  29 minutes

I have been a physician for over three decades, yet only rarely have I been one of the care givers of a terminal patient. This short film is profoundly moving and I recommend it to all students, trainees, physicians and care givers.

The Man Who Learned to Fall

The Man Who Learned to Fall is a feature documentary about a gifted writer and sought after teacher who celebrates the wonder of life even as he is slowly dying of a fatal neuromuscular condition. At the age of 35, Philip Simmons learned that he had ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Married, with two young children and a promising career as an English Professor and writer, he was told that he had less than five years to live.

The Man Who Learned to Fall won two awards at the Inter-national Health and Medical Media Awards in 2005 and was voted best film in the category of Coping, as well as the Michael E. DeBakey Award (for Outstanding Educational Entry).

To order a copy, go to Beitel/Lazar Productions

The Barbarian Invasions

This is a vastly entertaining and intellectual movie in French and from Montreal. It is a sequel after seventeen years of Arcand's 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire. The plot revolves around a libertine professor's battle with terminal cancer, and his estranged son's efforts, after reluctantly returning from London at the request of Remy's ex-wife Louise, to make his dying father more comfortable in his last days. His son proves willing to go to any lengths to achieve this, navigating Quebec's healthcare system, and in the process he gathers the various other friends and family members from Remy's past who come to visit and comfort him. During Remy's last days, he and his friends travel to the cottage of the first film, and discuss philosophy, politics, and past sexual and intellectual exploits.

Wit

Wit is a superb film about cancer and facing death.

It chronicles the personal awakening of a longtime literary scholar (two-time Oscar-winner Emma Thompson), who learns the importance of simple human kindness when faced with the most daunting of crises: a diagnosis of advanced cancer.

The film's principal character is Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. (Thompson), a 48-year-old professor specializing in the forbidding work of 17th Century metaphysical poet John Donne. With biting humor and wit, Vivian approaches her illness as she would one of Donne's sonnets, aggressively probing and intensely rational.

Ikiru

When a stoic government official in post-war Japan learns he has terminal cancer, he realizes he has squandered his life on meaningless red tape and has no close family or friendships to lean on. He resolves to use his remaining time to usher an insignificant but popular civic project, a children's playground, through the bureaucracy he knows so well. The acclaimed Akira Kurosawa directs.
This is a classic that addresses the topics of cancer, death, and finding meaning in life. Viktor Frankl wrote that man must have a "why" to live as well as a "how." This is what the protagonist in Ikiru learns.
Here is a good review: Ikiru

Availability:
Milne Library Williamstown
Netflix
Williams College Libraries