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.

Monsieur Lazare (2011)

This is an amazing film.  It touches on the impact of suicide on pupils of a teacher and also on fallout of specious accusations of child abuse.  It is a memorable movie.
From NY Times review.
"“Monsieur Lazhar” sustains an exquisite balance between grown-up and child’s-eye views of education, teacher-student relations and peer-group interactions. The students come quirkily alive in superb naturalistic performances devoid of cuteness and stereotyping. Like no other film about middle school life that I can recall “Monsieur Lazhar” conveys the intensity and the fragility of these classroom bonds and the mutual trust they require." 2011  94 minutes

Boy Interrupted (2008)

Geoffrey Gilmore, Sundance Festival: Boy Interrupted is a film that raises questions. It asks how a young boy can end his life at the tender age of 15. It struggles to find answers about what kind of family he had and the life he led. By its very nature, it is a naked display of its filmmaker's personal life at its most revealing and perhaps disturbing. How can a mother, we may ask, make a film about the death of her son? What defines this film as a remarkably unique and truth-telling achievement is the way it explores how filmmaking can create closure for its creators as well as its audience.

12/7/13:  Finally got to see this documentary.  It was produced, filmed and directed by the parents of this 15 yo boy who committed suicide.  They are both filmmakers.  Their son purportedly had Bipolar Disease. His paternal uncle committed suicide at age 21. It's an ineffably depressing film, but worth viewing.  I think it's amazing that the parents of this boy felt strongly about making their story accessible. 

Goodbye Solo (2009)

From NetFlix: When Senegalese taxi driver Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) picks up elderly William (Red West) in Winston-Salem, N.C., the older man hires him for another trip in two weeks. But as they continue to talk, Solo realizes that William plans to kill himself at that time. Befriending his depressed passenger, Solo tries to convince him to change his mind, and an unlikely friendship develops between the two men in this moving indie drama. 2009 91 minutes Trailer.

Director Ramin Bahrani is an Iranian-American cinematographer who grew up in North Carolina.

I saw Goodbye Solo on July 5, 2009. Drove to Albany (45 miles away) and do not regret the trip. It is a powerfully moving story that is hauntingly realistic, gritty and beautifully acted. This is not a Hollywood movie trying to be a blockbuster -- it will appeal to a different audience. Bahrani, an Iranian-American, may have been born and educated in the U.S., but his roots are in a different cinema. This film, in my opinion, is a masterpiece.

The Sea Inside

The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro) is a powerfully moving film about a quedriplegic's rightto determine his fate. It raises many important "moral" and "ethical" issues.

This is the real life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. It explores Ramón's relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible. Despite his wish to die, Ramón taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life. Though he could not move himself, he had an uncanny ability to move others.

In Spain, the former sailor Ramón Sampedro has been quadriplegic for twenty-eight years and is fighting in court for his right of practicing euthanasia through an association that defends the freedom of choice and leaded by his friend Géne. Ramón is introduced to the lawyer that is defending his cause, Julia, who has a degenerative fatal disease; and meets Rosa, a lonely worker that has been abused by men. Their relationship changes the behavior and viewpoint of life of Rosa and Julia. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil