Saturday, January 25, 11:00 a.m. | Settle In has never been an easy undertaking—watching films 300-800 minutes in length is sure to leave an impression (on your spine, at the very least), but the gallant cinephiles who take it on tend to stretch out and take it in stride. This film poses a weightier challenge. NEAR DEATH, presented as part of both Settle In and our Worlds of Wiseman series, is, as Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote upon its release, “less a viewing experience than a total immersion.” Filmed over six weeks at the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, NEAR DEATH explores, with Wiseman’s trademark steady gaze, the complex interrelationships between patients who are dying and their families and the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and religious advisors of the hospital. This is not a gripping, fast-paced emergency room drama. Rather, Wiseman’s film soberly observes the day-to-day functions of the unit: medical teams and loved ones discuss final, best choices for their terminally ill family members. Doctors tactfully, gently, share bad news. Nurses unflinchingly move bodies of the deceased from their hospital rooms to the morgue. A sobering and enlightening piece of cinema, Wiseman’s lens reflects the miracle of life and the inevitability of death, and the individuals who bear witness to the passage between the two. As Maslin rightly exalted, “Those who see it will find themselves irrevocably altered by the experience.” Program contains no intermissions.

Admission is $15 for Film Center members and $30 for general audiences. Tickets include bottomless refills on popcorn and coffee with purchase. Option to add a boxed lunch, courtesy of our friends at Goddess And The Baker ($13–15). *Tickets with boxed lunch must be ordered at least 72 hours in advance of individual screenings.

Awards & Nominations

Winner FIPRESCI Prize, Forum of New Cinema, Berlin Film Festival
Winner - Prix de l'Age d'Or

Settle In: Binge watching a television show or catching a double feature? Child’s play. Prove your passion for pacing with four films that test the limits of runtimes, that lean into their length, and that invite you to Settle In. Ticket price listed in individual descriptions, all tickets include bottomless refills on popcorn and coffee (with purchase), and bathroom and stretching breaks (feel free to bring a pillow). Ticket holders have the option to add a boxed lunch to their experience, courtesy of our friends at Goddess And The Baker* ($13-$15) Read more

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu