Available to watch on Netflix is a new documentary by Kirsten Johnson called Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020). Who is Dick Johnson? Dick Johnson is Kirsten the director’s father and it is a look at the subject of death by having her dad star in fake constructions of his potential death – walking on the street and being hit by a falling air conditioner, for example. It is a strange hook for a documentary and one that the father is happy to go along with. As the film progresses, we learn a bit more: Dick Johnson is suffering from early-onset dementia. He is a retired psychiatrist who is packing up his office and his home to live closer to his daughter. They have already undergone this experience earlier several years ago with Dick Johnson’s wife, Kirsten’s mother, who also was diagnosed with dementia and passed away while being looked after by the family. So, this is a very sad story as it is documenting this process and contemplating the end. But it is also a funny look at filmmaking with the staged “deaths” and the film pulling back to show the process and Dick Johnson understanding how it all works, talking to stunt people and make up and special effects crew. This is a personal, intimate look at the filmmaker’s family and her love for her father who seems like a pleasant, open, understanding person. I was moved to tears several times and even though it is about Kirsten’s own family, it’s hard to not extrapolate and think about your own mortality or that of your family’s (depending where you are in your life and your relationship with your family). Recommended.
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