Extremis Discussion Post

I thought that the storytelling aspect of the documentary was very strong. A large part of that strength stems from the circumstances under which the director, Dan Krauss, was filming. The hospital setting, which can be triggering for some, is extremely jarring, and coupled with the verite filming style that the short is done leaves little breathing room for those watching. The way that the documentary goes straight into a difficult and very private moment for one family also left me considering the ethics of a film like this. While Krauss undoubtedly had to ask permission for all of the families profiled, there was one instance that struck out at me as being less than ethical. The scenes with the homeless man who was brought in unable to clearly communicate his thoughts and presumably had no family to approve his participation in the documentary were questionable to me. Removing someone’s bodily autonomy like that even if that person may be intellectually disabled, does not seem very ethical to me. All in all, the documentary was still an extremely compelling look at end-of-life care and the intimacy that prevails during those moments.