This is the most powerful documentary I have ever seen. To anyone thinking that a deathbed scene is a peaceful serene experience surrounded by loved ones, think again having seen this.
It is haunting, sad and empowering to watch five people (having agreed with the film maker, Allan King, to have their last moments captured for posterity so that others might be enlightened to the death experience)die over the the time frame of a few weeks.
Some of the scenes are almost unwatchable, the terrible sounds of the last few hours of breathing, the sadness (for the viewer) of most of these courageous participants dying alone apart from the camera and sound technicians.
The most beautiful death scene was a gay man, his partner and parents all loving him to "the other side." He had been resigned to death, wanted it, and yet his body struggled to stay alive. I am still haunted by it, still trying to formulate thoughts on how these deaths in the film have affected me as these people were so real and vibrant and even funny.
Brilliant, brave film-making from Allan King whose previous documentaries I have also seen and recommend. 10 out of 10. Some films you see and are never the same again. All films should be like this.
Dying at Grace
2003
Documentary
Dying at Grace
2003
Documentary
Plot summary
This film is about the experience of dying. Five terminal patients in a Palliative Care Unit at Toronto's Grace Hospital share the last days of their lives and deaths with a film crew, having already given prior consent. They do so in the hope that their experience will be useful to the audience in managing its own fear of dying and death. Their families, friends and staff share in the task. Without narration or interviews, the camera simply and intimately observes the events that occur over the course of fourteen weeks as five people come face to face with the doorway through which we all must pass. While some pass suddenly, for others the process is unpredictable. Several die alone. The film traces equally the profound humanity, generosity and sensitivity of the staff at the hospital: with great gentleness and understanding they accompany each of the patients to their final moments. King's choice of subjects is equally moving: while the age of the individuals is hard to guess, most seem to be quite elderly, although ravages of their respective illnesses make it difficult to be sure: an Italian-Canadian grandmother, a stoic woman whose entire family has predeceased her, a former motorcycle gang member, a gay man, whose partner and mother and father comfort each other. Both the film and the hospital's staff allow every one of them to be themselves to the best of their ability and this aspect is one of the film's most moving qualities. It is a classic among the few documentaries that attempt to accompany individuals over their last days.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Raw, riveting footage
Should be required viewing for all people over 25....
My mother died of ovarian cancer and my brother and I took care of her for the majority of that time. What happens to all 5 souls in this movie is exactly what happened to my mom, down to the very smallest detail. There isn't a whole lot of variety to what happens. The person progresses from fairly coherent (themselves, if you will) to more and more aloof, then finally, that awful eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head and labored breathing part (the end). I'm a scientist and an observer. I know darn well what the real cause of death for all of these people (including my mother) was... it's called dehydration. There's a point when the person can't eat or drink anymore, and that's when you know they won't last another week. All that labored breathing is for oxygen that a low blood volume (dehydration) can't supply. There has to be better way than starvation. Truthfully, my mom could have done without the last 2 weeks of her life, and so too could these people. Watch this movie and live in reality, just for a moment. Take some time off from those Will Ferrell movies, you know.
Superb!
One of the heaviest films I've ever seen. Also one of the best documentaries. I saw this at the Phoenix Film Festival where it rightfully won Best Foreign Film and thought it was the most moving film I saw there. Completely shows a side of death that cinema usually ignores: banal reality. Five ordinary people die of cancer over the course of 14 weeks in an ordinary hospital. No characters. No interviews. No narration. No redemption. No plot-twists. Slow paced. That's what happens to people who get cancer. This film completely takes the physical and emotional reality and turns it into a cinematic emotional abyss. Really makes you wonder how you will die or if this is an oracle into your future. Absolutely amazing footage. This is no mere snuff film, mind you. This is a film that takes reality and shoves it into your face. All these poor people have is their dignity and even that is taken away. A tragedy even more in that it is reality. Such is life.