The Gerontologist 45:141 (2005)
© 2005 The Gerontological Society of America
DYING AT GRACE: A DOCUMENTARY VIDEO
Robert E. Yahnke
yahnk001{at}umn.edu
Allan King's documentary, Dying at Grace, is an extraordinary example of the effectiveness of the direct cinema medium. In this form of documentary, pioneered by the American director Frederick Wiseman, there is no voice-over narration, no sound track external to the scenes, and no direct interviews within the documentary. Instead, the viewer watches human beings interact within a specific social context—in this case, the palliative care unit at Grace Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. The camera is present in all of the scenes and records the interactions of the family members and staff members with the dying patients. Viewers are required to observe what the camera has observed and thus make judgments about the truths that are revealed in each of the scenes. In several scenes nurses audiotape reports on the status of patients. In that way King simulates voice-over narration—but done in a way that is true to direct cinema documentary. Gradually we come to know the patients, and we come to know the nurses, doctors, and other staff members. The Salvation Army runs the hospital, and often there are references to faith issues for these patients. The medical staff is not afraid to talk about end-time concerns. There is little evangelizing in the video; it is a given that faith issues may be broached in the ongoing conversations and interactions relating to patient care.
In a video like this you notice the power of human touch—when a doctor or a nurse touches a patient or when a family member holds a patient's hands. Viewers also become aware of sounds; for instance, the ventilator that regulates breathing, the sound of muted conversations, the sound of footsteps in a corridor, and the white noise of a hospital. Viewers also experience "direct cinema moments"—that is, intimate glimpses that reveal essential truths about human beings and their values. For instance, early in the video two women in wheelchairs interact quietly; in another scene a woman visits her former doctor—and the comfort of touch between them is revelatory; an old woman goes to a beauty parlor and gets a permanent—a simple act that raises her spirits; a father breaks down and cries when he is faced with his son's dying and tells the doctor, "I think he's ready"; a father clings to his son's dead body. In this video we also watch some of the patients die. When we see breathing cease, we are shocked at first—as if we mean to say, "Where are the breaths? Why are they not continuing?" We are impressed by the intimacy of medical treatment as well as the intimacy of the experience of dying. The human being, at the moments before death, is fragile and yet beautiful. This video allows viewers to be witnesses, to be transfixed by the power of the moment of death, and to come to grips with the meaning of their existence.
