*Obligatory Spoiler Warning*: I like knowing almost nothing about a film before viewing it. If you are also like this, read only the next paragraph!
This is an interesting and honest Australian documentary about the industries that deal with dead people. The style of the documentary is basically a series of interviews with funeral directors, detectives, grave diggers and other such people - all very much alive! There are no dead people in this film.
From a visual perspective, this documentary is shot in a straightforward fashion, with the camera in a locked off position most of the time. No Blair Witch style camera works here. All the people being interviewed are normally in their work environment, giving a solid context to the dialogue (the most obvious example is the gravedigger standing in a freshly dug grave, with shovel in hand!). There are a few meditative, interwoven, tight shots of the still hands of the people being interviewed, along with a running set of shots of flowers in progressive states of wilting. This was a subtle, yet effective way of chaptering the sections.
There are no shots of bodies, or body parts in the film as the focus is on the people who have to deal *with* bodies. However, the topics discussed may not be quite so pleasant to hear during dinner! After seeing this film, I felt more enlightened about what happens to people's bodies after death, at least in a western culture like Australia.
Worth watching once, especially for inquisitive minds.
This is an interesting and honest Australian documentary about the industries that deal with dead people. The style of the documentary is basically a series of interviews with funeral directors, detectives, grave diggers and other such people - all very much alive! There are no dead people in this film.
From a visual perspective, this documentary is shot in a straightforward fashion, with the camera in a locked off position most of the time. No Blair Witch style camera works here. All the people being interviewed are normally in their work environment, giving a solid context to the dialogue (the most obvious example is the gravedigger standing in a freshly dug grave, with shovel in hand!). There are a few meditative, interwoven, tight shots of the still hands of the people being interviewed, along with a running set of shots of flowers in progressive states of wilting. This was a subtle, yet effective way of chaptering the sections.
There are no shots of bodies, or body parts in the film as the focus is on the people who have to deal *with* bodies. However, the topics discussed may not be quite so pleasant to hear during dinner! After seeing this film, I felt more enlightened about what happens to people's bodies after death, at least in a western culture like Australia.
Worth watching once, especially for inquisitive minds.
