Life as it ends

Overview

A haunting, deeply moving documentary set among terminally ill cancer patients. The titular island of Steven Eastwood’s feature documentary is the Isle of Wight, where the filmmaker befriended a handful of individuals facing a terminal cancer diagnosis. Following them as they approach the end – through hospital appointments, time with family – this is a stark portrait, acutely attuned to the consoling rituals and stark realities of the dying process. Combining observational footage of his subjects with contemplative shots of the surrounding coastal landscapes through the changing seasons, this deeply felt meditation on the passage from life to death is imbued with an unsensational matter-of-factness and resonant lyricism. A necessarily harrowing film, revealing through scenes of unblinking duration the final stages of the disease’s progress on its sufferers, The Island is also a film of enormous delicacy, made in a spirit of tender respect for every one of the people involved.