'Seven Songs for a Long Life' affirms life

It may not sound like the most inviting documentary of the year, but Seven Songs for a Long Life is a heart-warming, life-affirming film. Set in Strathcarron Hospice, one of the largest such centers in Scotland, director Amy Hardie explores the present and past of six patients who vary in ages and prognosis but share a love of life.

They include an ex-motorcycle racer with m.s., one woman who faces a recurrence of cancer, another with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, one diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow, and so on. What unites them is a pressing, serious consideration of the end of life. Each deals with her or his situation differently; for example, one man doesn't want to know details of his illness, others want full and complete information. Several focus intently on their families and making their loved ones' adjustments easier, including their children's acceptance. 

These everyday men and women are remarkable exactly because they mirror our friends, relatives, and colleagues. This familiarity makes their humor, pain, and resilience resonate that much more fully--we know and are these individuals: Tosh, Julie, Dorene, Iain, Alicia, and Nicola. They are served by incredibly sensitive, gentle nurses and caring staff who share with their own emotional gifts. Most memorable among them is nurse Mandy. After having worked at the hospice center for a considerable time, Mandy wisely observes that what she's learned is how to listen because they can't fix things. 

As the title Seven Songs for a Long Life suggests, patients and staff also share the joy of song which liberates their spirits and moves their bodies as they sing, for example, "Strangers in the Night," "Dream a Little Dream of Me," and "The Good Life," among others. The restraint of the film, shot over three years, fits the subject, though there are, appropriately, sad moments and slow sections. Intercut shots of nature ground the film in the beauty of the area. 

It is ironic that those dying have so much to teach us about living but indeed they do, enhancing whatever appreciation we already have. Seven Songs for a Long Life screens at Webster University's Winifred Moore auditorium Friday, January 6 through Sunday, January 8 at 7:30 each evening.