Review of Eternity and a Day (1998) by Kim M — 02 Mar 2016

Definitely not for everybody. But for those who care, this film provides a wonderful chance to think about death. The film contrasts two kinds of death: natural, prepared death that is defined by aging and medical conditions ("I have a cancer, and I have 3 more months to live"), and abrupt, unprepared death that is figured in the movie as the political death of illegal aliens.

Showing the interaction between a dying, old poet and an illegal immigrant boy, the movie suggests that the second kind of death - the death that gets us by surprise and leaves us no time to prepare for a transition from life to death - is unworthy of human dignity.