Graceful Passages: The Hospice Journals
A film by Jon R. Hand

Karen Lee Lewis

If you were living your final months, what would matter to you?
How would you want to be treated? Jon R. Hand's documentary
film, Graceful Passages: The Hospice Journals, gives us the daily
experiences of several people in their last months of living. It is
a calm and beautiful portrait of life's most precious time. Hand
provides a steady compass through various points of view:
whether family, physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain or
volunteer. He shows us what is possible when people work
together to alleviate the pathos and suffering we may encounter
on the journey toward death.

The soundtrack to Graceful Passages develops as we make our
way through various days with hospice recipients. In this land-
scape a conversation, a televised football game, a water faucet,
and grace before a meal — all become the intricate sounds that
build the music of our days. Whenever possible Hand uses
natural light to breathtaking effect, and the path is gently lit.
He successfully minimizes the harsh flourescent glare that we
associate with too many hospital settings. Windows in this film
glow with the promise of another day and are reminiscent of
Mark Rothko's lighter works. Hand requires his audience to pay
attention, to participate, alongside him, as observer. He under-
stands that it is unnecessary to play to false emotion. His
subjects are significant in their own right. He creates a film that
is natural and organic in tone, rewarding us with an authentic
experience that we can embrace. In essence Hand becomes
another member in the collaboration of care, and as such he
patiently demonstrates why Hospice should matter to us all.

The skilled and generous Hospice staff knows all too well the
costs of fear. They have learned that if we chose to reject
denial we actually become better at living. These professional
care givers know how to create an atmosphere of comfort, and
they can be relied upon not only as sources of information, but
of inspiration. They help their patients to breathe easier; they
bring more wind to our sails.

Critic Robert Hughes has said that “Little, in art, can be more
radical than a hunger for the real.” Graceful Passages invites
us to face reality. As a filmmaker, Hand is attuned to the
slightest gesture. His artful rendering shows us a living version
of Edvard Munch's The Sick Child. The holding of hands, a touch
to a cheek, and a stroke to a forehead – he captures this quiet
but powerful body language. It should be no surprise that even
in the face of death the human spirit, no matter the age, still
desires to create. We watch Antoinette Charles composing
music at 95 years of age. We listen as Milton Schoch lovingly
recites Johnny Mercer's lyrics to Moon River. We see artist
Marjorie Stanfield, afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s disease, embracing
the work of her favorite painter Caravaggio. We become aware
of the comfort it brings her, to rest awhile among these brush
strokes, as she communicates her appreciation of a master’s
influence. She teaches us that our true passions are long lived.
Through these moments Hand, in turn, illustrates that creative
pursuits liberate the energy of mind and spirit.

In Graceful Passages we share moments of levity. We feel our
collective spirit rising to the occasion. We witness what will
matter when it is our turn to be the patient. Ethicist Michael
Josephson notes that what will matter is “every act of integrity,
compassion, courage or sacrifice.” Hospice patient Debra Osieja
points out to us that it “sounds like an odd goal — to die.” This
film reminds us that death is a small, infinitesimal moment, and
that the moments that lead up to it are monumentally larger
and more important. Learning to live those moments fully, with
grace, is a choice we all have, regardless of our circumstances.

Karen Lee Lewis
Teaching Artist
Kleelew@aol.com