A Certain Kind of Death

I love this film. The director's unblinking eye captures something extraordinary and mundane. You see the process of laying to rest the John and Jane Does of Los Angeles. Some parts are extremely graphic, showing the bodies of deceased people (vagrants really) as well as the practical and unsettlingly methodical protocol used to handle and interr the remains. Part of me sees this film as a sweet elegy about death and impermanence. The other part of me sees a film about fascism and genocide because all of the living characters are lower-middle class bureaucrats who exist in a bureaucratic fog. Whether they shuffle papers or crush incinerated bone fragments, there is an alarming detachment masked behind a thin layer of civic obligation. This is not like the docs on CourtTV; this is a thoughtful, well-shot production.

It's about unclaimed deaths. Who dies lonely. And hose dead bodies remain untouched for many time until it discovered by an uninvited person, mostly the house owners. By the way, this documentary is very touching which teaches us, don't die alone. Make good friends who may miss us sometimes. Keep relationship with every friends and family members we have. Recommended 80%. Alert: heavy heart breaking scenes.

The film follows the events that happen following three people's deaths in LA county. None of them have next of kins and are in the hand of the government.

Overall, it was good but not captivating enough. Only one of the three I felt that I really gotten to know his life or who he is. The other two people followed in the film felt "incomplete." The people they interviewed also did not seem passionate enough about their jobs, and as a result, I did not feel the emotions I expected from a film with its goal.

This documentary is unique in its rawness. It follows the deaths of 3 people, and captures the raw facts of how the state processes what remained after they died when no family or friends came to speak for them: their body, their money, their things. Through the process and the work of different state employees, some details of the decedents' lives emerge, showing that these were real human beings with life stories - who died alone. The film is almost like a stoic parent matter-of-factly and plainly illuminating the facts and realities of death to a child who has asked.

A Certain Kind of Death is well worth watching and eye opening. Its' only uncompromising principle being a dedication to sharing the unblinking brute facts and reality of how a state manages the deaths of it's citizens.

For me, the film left a lasting impression, forcing the viewer to ask themselves the obvious question: how do I want my own death to be handled?

One of the better documentaries I've seen, A Certain Kind of Death explores what happens to people whose bodies go unclaimed by relatives. Although it's a grisly subject the film makers were able to make it an interesting and very watchable experience.

Dead bodies in various stages of decomposition are seen, but not played for shock factor. Instead, you learn a little about each person, both what they were before death and what will happen to them afterward. They are followed from the discovery of the body to the final disposition of the remains, and each step in between.

The LA County Coroner's Office figures prominently, and they are shown to be a dedicated and professional group with respect for the dead and their property. I was surprised to find this documentary to be so watchable, it has a good flow and answers most if not all questions.