Pretty Good

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Excellent, a Must See

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I watched my Momma pass away in our childhood home as she was at the age of 69, just one day after Thanksgiving 2015. She had been a survivor of ovarian cancer and 8 years after that diagnosis, she had another scan and they found cancer in her tight lung. She had a surgery for that. In a quick time cancer metastasized to her liver. She endured many months of chemo. My Mom was quite the fighter through and through. I was with her for the most of this. Cancer grew in her liver despite the chemo and then had metastasized again into her brain where two tumors were found in the back part of her brain and one smaller one in the front.She endured radiation on her brain. The chemo had been stopped after a trial of the newest chemo type medication that helps the immune system fight against cancer. But by that time, her immune system was terribly damaged by the chemo and cancer so the medicine was useless. She had headaches. She slept a good bit of the time. She had less and less of an appetite and became weaker. She needed help to walk to the bathroom. Her body ached in ways I don't ever want to experience. She took pain medication but when things became so bad, even the strongest pain medicine didn't touch the pain. I was there during the doctor telling her, my father and my sister and I that there was nothing else that could be done and he recommended hospice. That meeting was the sentence before the last small chapter of her life. She passed in her sleep. I tell all of this because I experienced the horror of what cancer can do. I watched the documentary and found a big missing link in it. Where in all these stories was God? The sadness in watching the family at the end seeming so utterly lost in connection was due to the lacking of God in their lives. It was a terrible sadness. In most of the folks, there was no mention of God. THAT is a huge missing piece to 'dying with dignity'. Without our Creator being involved in our lives, my mother's situation would have been hopeless like many in this film. I feel sad for these families and so many are in the same loss. Why in the world would one try and navigate this uncertain life in all it's many evils without the never ending love, compassion, omnipotence and comforting assurance of God? Even with the support of doctors and family and friends, there is a profound emptiness, fear, and in conclusion to ending one's life in this manner. God must be the One directing this story. In Him, this missing piece of the film can be found.

'How to Die in Oregon' is affecting often to the point of being distressing in its palpable sadness and sorrow. The magic of the film however, is in its ability to artlessly translate a restoring and comforting warmth in the face of such a despairing content. I was left feeling truly grateful to have had the privilege to have seen the film and learn about some of the wonderful people in it. As a study, this documentary offers immediate proximity to people facing a part of life we must all face; death. And that is not an easy subject for most any of us to grasp or make sense of, no matter how much experience we have had with it. What would you do if you learned that you were incurably ill? Given a rapidly approaching deadline, a deadline you thought you wouldn't have to think about in such a manufactured light... not like this; not right now. How would you cope with being told that your body would soon vigorously, unapologetically and almost certainly painfully, deteriorate and part with... everything. Now, what would you do if you were able to take back some control in the matter of your life. And if this were possible, what would it even mean? This documentary addresses the option of physician-assisted suicide which is a matter quite different from euthanasia, (where a doctor is ultimately in control of the procedure) but it is certainly no less controversial. Physician-assisted suicide is a move towards giving terminally ill persons a choice; a choice they, and they alone, can legally make. An individual of sound mind, (who has appropriate witness signatures to report so), is allowed as much consideration and independence as possible in determining when and how they are to exit this world and their illness. It is the patient themselves who is to administer the substance which results in their death, and this is something revolutionary in the western world today. Whether you agree or disagree with the medical, moral, or political advances in this film should not influence your decision to watch it. Rather, I strongly encourage you to add this to your watch list for two reasons: firstly, for its relatable and engaging accounts and the people you will get to meet, and secondly for its skill as a piece of film-making. If you are a lover of exceptional cinema, especially documentaries, you will not be disappointed.Hopefully you will leave 'How to Die in Oregon' with an enhanced perception and tangibility of not only death and dying, but more importantly humanity, and what this means to each and everyone of us. An easy 10/10 for me,Boogie

I know it sounds corny to say "You must see this movie," but seriously, you must see it. Very thought-provoking and moving, no matter what side of the debate you're on. Makes you feel compassion for the patients, especially Cody, whose story runs throughout the film. I was pulling for her.It was well done. It's a documentary (I know I keep using the word "film") that will leave you speechless at the end. Beginning it with the case of a patient taking the pills has a jarring and disturbing effect. For another film that supports / compliments this issue see also HBO Films' "You Don't Know Jack." I also found it to be very thought-provoking, and makes you think about the patients, as well.

How to Die in Oregon (2011) **** (out of 4) This emotionally draining documentary talks about the 1994 Death with Dignity law that was passed in Oregon, which allows people the choice to pick when they want to die. The documentary talks with several people who have decided to share their stories, which has most of them dealing with a terminal illness that has no cure. The question becomes if they want to spend the last few months of their lives in pain or if they would prefer to end their lives through physician-assisted suicide. The topic of this has been a hot debate item for a very long time but thankfully director Peter Richardson doesn't try to turn this film into some sort of political debate. I think the film is a very honest and open look at all sides of the debate but thankfully we never get to any childish bickering between the sides. I had read a few reviews of this film and it one said that you'd be crying within the first five minutes of the picture and there's no question that these opening moments are some of the hardest I've had to watch. We basically see a man surrounded by his family getting ready to die, which to me leads to some of the most honest moments where you the viewer have to ask yourself what you would do. What would you say to your loved ones in the final minutes of your life? Would there be a final word that you'd want to get out? We also follow another woman, Cody, who is suffering from cancer and she's given six months to life but keeps the pills it takes to end her life is she decides to. Her issue is not knowing when to say she's had enough or if she'll know the moment when she wants to die. We follow her as her case gets better but then takes a drastic and fast turn. We also see things from the other side, which is a man whose health insurance says they won't pay for him to try and fight for life yet they will pay for him to end his life. All of these stories are just emotionally draining and although this film is a masterpiece, it's easy to see why it's appeal would be quite limited. I can sit here and say that the people here are inspirational and I can say that the director handles everything with such dignity and class but in the end the viewer is really going to have to ask themselves if they want to sit through watching people die. As depressing as some of these stories are, at the same time they are quite uplifting seeing people appreciate the life they do have and the importance of having people you love around you. HOW TO DIE IN OREGON is a very powerful, extremely well-made picture that is certainly worth viewing if you can put up with the graphic drama.