Editor's note: This article definitely talks about suicide and suicide attempts and may be triggering to some people.
We often watch films with certain themes where we don't have direct experience. A lot of us have no parenting experience yet we watch films about parenting issues and concerns. We were all children, after all.
I hadn't thought about the films I've seen where suicide was involved, and there were quite a few. A lot of them Canadian; some of them very American.
I did have someone, who was quite estranged from me, end their life recently at their own hands. Despite the estrangement, I feel quite a bit of pain from the act. This is complicated.
This isn't one of those self-indulging pieces where the author magically realizes the significance of a topic because what that person saw on the big screen now affects their life. Still, I wanted to examine this topic through a new lens.
Films that feature suicide can refer to a suicide attempt or the discovery of suicide or some other related matter. Some of this can be triggering if you have experienced a suicide of someone close to you. We apologize if this piece is triggering.
Heathers is more about murders made to look like suicides. This was the first film that entered my brain when I thought about this topic. The song featured in the above video also was in my head. I did see the film after 3 of my high school classmates had died, none of them by suicide. I wasn't triggered by that though many could be.
Other American films that leapt to mind: The Virgin Suicides, The Big Chill, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the "black capsule" in M*A*S*H, Christine (as in Christine Chubbuck, the film with Rebecca Hall).
Close, the Belgium entry into this spring's Oscars for Best International Feature Film, also has a suicide in the film. A hauntingly beautiful film.
I did make a list of Canadian films that have suicide themes contained within the film. This is not a complete list.
- All My Puny Sorrows
- Our Loved Ones | Les êtres chers
- Queens of the Qing Dynasty
- Wilby Wonderful
- Monsieur Lazhar
- The Grizzlies
- All the Wrong Reasons
- Everything Is Fine | Tout est parfait
- Cas & Dylan
- 1:54
- Lost and Delirious
- The Barbarian Invasions
- Nelly
We have seen all of these titles with the exception of Queens of the Qing Dynasty and Everything Is Fine | Tout est parfait. We saw Ashley McKenzie's full-length feature debut Werewolf, an intense fictional film. Seeing that film makes me want to see Queens of the Qing Dynasty.
All My Puny Sorrows has suicide as a co-star while Wilby Wonderful has a more light-hearted approach to a suicide attempt. All My Puny Sorrows and Our Loved Ones | Les êtres chers were about generational suicide in families.
Anne Émond wrote and directed Our Loved Ones and Nelly. The latter film was based on a real-life person who did end her life.
Canadian film review: All My Puny Sorrows
Monsieur Lazhar starts out with a suicide. Cas & Dylan has that theme throughout with a terminal illness but the act comes near the end of the film.
All the Wrong Reasons doesn't show the suicide but the reaction is instrumental to Karine Vanasse's character.
Everything Is Fine | Tout est parfait deals with the reaction of the main character to 4 suicides.
1:54 has the suicide in the middle of the film. Lost and Delirious and The Barbarian Invasions have the act at the end of the film. The youth in The Grizzlies are surrounded by suicide. Queens of the Qing Dynasty reportedly starts out in the aftermath of a suicide attempt.
If you are intrigued for good or bad reasons to find more films on the subject, Wikipedia has such a list.
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Quebec looked into putting a suicide content warning on films in 2011. That act ultimately didn't happen. Canada doesn't have a federal system for rating films, unlike the United States with the MPAA rating system. Provinces decide all of those elements for film distribution.
We don't generally object to such content warnings. We do wonder in films such as Close where the suicide is the twist in a film.
Filmmakers are often going to tell stories close to their heart. Suicide can easily be one of those topics.
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Episode 7 of the Canadian TV series Three Pines showed the aftermath of a murder made to look like a suicide. Talk about the act can be a trigger for some people. Seeing the victim can be a trigger for a lot of people. All of our examples deal with suicide at different points in the process.
Newfoundland acting legend and former Codco member Andy Jones has a new one-person play Don't Give Up On Me, Dad about the suicide of his son at the age 28 after a long battle with mental illness. Jones joined Q and Tom Power to talk about Louis and the play.
My therapist mentioned The Bridge (2006), an American documentary on suicide jumpers off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay. I have not seen this film, though I gather from the description that this film might be quite triggering.
I do know from having walked that bridge that there are phones on the bridge for people to call for mental health assistance. That may not be a perfect solution but good to know that an option is there for those who need help.
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In our original story, we noted that Karyn Dwyer's Wikipedia page noted that the actor had committed suicide. That passage is no longer on her page.
Her passing was tragic and far too soon, regardless of the reason. Suicide shouldn't have a stigma.
As a film reviewer who tries to remain objective, I won't stray from reviewing a film based on the topic. The film may trigger some emotion but that is to be expected. The pain might be a bit more real than it was before the event in my own life.
I don't want to trigger people about the topic. Some suicide or suicide attempt survivors throw themselves into the topic instead of fleeing the idea.
We will try to be sensitive whenever possible. When we reviewed Prey, we noted that film could be triggering for those who were sexually abused, especially by a Catholic priest.
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The recent saga of a Metro Vancouver man who was essentially outed for calling a mental health hotline should not discourage people who need help.
While the United States has the 988 option for suicide help, Canada won't have that option until November 30 of this year.
In the meantime, here are options for Canadians who need assistance. Thanks to CBC News for compiling this information.
- Talk Suicide Canada: 833/456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 pm and midnight ET).
- Kids Help Phone: 800/668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the Web site.
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
- This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.
Please don't worry about the stigma of making such a call.
video credit: YouTube/Music from Movies
photo credits: All My Puny Sorrows; Our Loved Ones | Les êtres chers; Cas & Dylan
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