Photo by Pauline Iakovleva on Unsplash
For most people, nothing can truly bring complete comfort when they learn they’re reaching the end of their life. There can be fear and discomfort in the unknown, especially when an illness such as cancer has meant that they’re facing death long before expected.
Therapy, journaling, talking to loved ones, and attending support groups are helpful ways to process your feelings and find acceptance, but comfort may also be found in something as simple as a film. These movies, in particular, may touch on the very subjects you need to start processing what’s happening to you:
Ikiru (1952)
Whether you’re battling stage 4 mesothelioma, organ failure, a neurodegenerative disease, or something else, Ikiru, which means ‘To Live,’ is a film worth watching to see how someone in your same position was able to find deep peace.
This 1952 Japanese film tells the story of an office worker, Kanji Watanabe, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had months to live. Rather than living in despair, he used his final days to build a children’s playground and found joy in helping others.
The movie focused heavily on finding purpose in small acts and focusing on the possible. He knew he couldn’t fix himself or the whole world, so he focused on one good thing he could do: turn a dirty swamp into a safe place for children to play.
The Seventh Seal (1957)
If you like older films with biblical undertones, The Seventh Seal is a worthwhile movie to watch online. It’s a 1957 Swedish allegorical film that follows a medieval knight, Antonius Block, who played chess with Death to delay his demise. At the same time, he was searching for the meaning of God, faith, and life during the Black Death.
Antonius had lost his faith after seeing war and suffering and wanted proof that God exists. The film explored human dread, the silence of God, and how people face inevitable death. In the end, Antonius didn’t hide from Death. He confronted it and showed that even in a harsh world, meaning is found through grace, human connection, and presence of mind.
50/50 (2011)
The 2011 comedy-drama 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves that even when faced with a terminal diagnosis, you can still have raw humor, vulnerability, and laughter. The film followed a 27-year-old public radio producer diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer that had a 50% survival rate. It was loosely based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s real experiences.
This film used a great deal of dark humor and normalized laughing at the absurd and awkward realities of medical treatment. For many, it showed that you can have emotional relief even during something as serious as cancer.
Coco (2017)
The 2017 Disney-Pixar animated film Coco was about a 12-year-old Mexican boy, Miguel, who dreamed of becoming a musician. However, a magical accident sends him to the colorful Land of the Dead, where he must find his dead ancestors to return home before sunrise.
While ultimately a child’s movie, it has some real value for people who are facing the very real reality of dying before they ever expected. It may help them reframe death as a transition, rather than a permanent end. It can also teach us that our loved ones live on in our memories.
Everyone deals with death in different ways and finds comfort in different things. If you’re on your journey to acceptance after a terminal diagnosis, you may begin to find peace, comfort, and perhaps a little bit of happiness in a beautifully made film with a thoughtful message.
from Review Blog https://ift.tt/3wV9rTc
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