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Life is a near-death experience ~ George Carlin

The dog days of summer in August are a good time to chill and enjoy some quality screen time. We've pulled together a collection of shows and movies to add to your viewing queue. Like life, death is a subject that is told in tales both tragic and comic.

Pixar & Disney have created many wonderful animated films and Soul is a really inspired one. Sweet, funny and thought provoking, the film raises profound questions about life and death in a manner that is approachable at 6 or 60.

Joe is a middle-aged high school band teacher who thinks he missed his true calling in life as a jazz musician. When he travels into another dimension he learns the real meaning of 'soul'.

You can watch the trailer here, and Soul is available on Disney+ here.

When Kathy Brandt, a hospice and palliative care consultant, received a terminal diagnosis she, along with her partner, decided to narrate her decline and death in 2019 on social media. This New Yorker documentary project by Sara Joe Wolansky and Douglas Watson tells the story of this story. There's also an important emphasis here ..that life could still be good, even when it was ending.

You can find the article here and the doc itself here.

Obit. is a charming documentary focusing on the legendary obituary writers at the New York Times who approach their daily work with journalistic vigor and a flair for storytelling. The film is uplifting, full of life and beautifully photographed, and invites some of the most essential questions about life, memory and the inevitable passage of time.

The trailer for Obit. is here, and watch it on Kanopy here or on Amazon Prime here.

Based on the DC Comics series by Jeff Lemire, this Netflix show about a pandemic driven, post-apocalyptic world reflects the Mad Max meets Bambi vibe of the original comic books. It centers around a young 'hybrid' - part boy and part deer - who sets off on a search for a mom he's never met. His kind are feared and hunted. They also represent a potential future that offers the hope of more balance between humans and the natural world.

You can find the trailer here and the first season is available for streaming here.

In Get Low, a feisty film from 2010, testy old woodsman (Robert Duvall) conceives the idea of holding, and attending, his own funeral while he's still alive. Much-feared hermit Felix Bush declares "I want everybody to come who’s got a story to tell about me.” In the end, it is Felix who ends up revealing a secret story at his own funeral.

Read the New Yorker review of Get Low here and watch here.

Here are two recent films dealing with the right to die.

Blackbird, a dramatic film directed by veteran Roger Michell, is a riveting story of a mother (Susan Sarandon) who brings her family together to say goodbye before she ends her life. The reunion becomes a family drama as everyone's unresolved emotions bubble to the surface and collide. There is no possible resolution except to attempt to heal together while they can.

You can stream Blackbird on iTunes here and on Vudu here.

Here Awhile, a movie directed by Tim True, follows a young Anna as she receives a terminal diagnosis and decides to move back home to Oregon so as to be able to manage her own death. This indie movie takes a look at the emotional and practical ripples such a decision entails and a sad and sweet look at Death with Dignity.

You can find the trailer here and the movie's website here.

Captain Fantastic is a story of love and extremes…centering on a family that has found its bliss in splendid, unplugged isolation. Ben Cash (Viggo Mortenson) and his six kids, ranging in age from 7 to 18, have lived and thrived on a self-made compound. In scenes that are profoundly moving, the family honors the body of their beloved wife and mother as per her last wishes, allowing themselves to touch their grief. It is a thing of true and authentic beauty that is quite memorable.

You can read a review of the film here which also includes a 2-minute video link to the director’s anatomy of a scene here. The film can be streamed on Netflix here.

You can find the first seasons of both Upload and Good Omens on Prime Video and both have a second season in production. Upload, created by Greg Daniels, goes all in on what a digital afterlife could look like exploring one of our latest iterations of the quest for immortality.

And Good Omens, created by Neil Gaiman based on his book with Terry Pratchett, pairs an angel and a demon in common cause to prevent a foretold Armageddon.

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