runamokprods Disturbing, creepy, sad documentary on how the body and personal effects of those who die without kin are handled by the coroner's office. The lack of music and narration, combined with carefully coldly composed cinematography all add to the disturbing sense of clinical isolation. The images of real dead bodies being discovered, cataloged, and eventually reduced to ash can't help but make one ponder mortality, and how alone we all are in the end. Yet sometimes the air of reserve feels forced, and there's a bit of repetitiveness, despite the short (69 min) running time. Still, a fascinating, macabre, thought provoking film

Cosmoeticadotcom Where would contemporary documentaries be without the Michael Moore style of self-promotional agitprop, or without PBS's Burns Brothers' solemnly historical talking heads and recitations form of docudrama? Well, back to straightforward journalistic techniques, of the sort employed in the outstanding 70 minute long 2003 documentary from directors Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh, A Certain Kind Of Death. And no, this is not the exploitative pseudo-documentary style that was pioneered in camp classics like Faces Of Death nor Mondo Cane. Instead, the directors hew to the early style of Errol Morris, albeit even more starkly. Their technique- of emotional distancing, by having employees of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office simply tell how they do their jobs when dealing with kinless decedents, rather than telling how they feel, gives the audience an unbiased 'in' to the rather rote way municipalities deal with the hundreds of annual unclaimed dead- what used to be referred to as 'going to potter's field.'The film follows the deaths of three single white middle-aged men in 2001….The inurement and occasional humor displayed by the people who clean up after the dead bodies, sift through their belongings, research their lives, and try to find next of kin, is to be expected in government work (as I was once a civil servant), where the roteness of civil servitude even less interesting than this often holds sway, but especially when one has to deal with about 2000 such cases a year. And when we see the bodies- naked, emotionless, with welts, bruises, or partly rotted and decomposed portions of their forms (these stiffs are called 'decomps' in the parlance), inurement seems a wholly reasonable approach one should take to such tasks, such as slinging the dead by their four limbs, like a shot deer (something I recall watching my own dead dad's body enduring)….The utter lack of staginess and pretense makes this film invaluable, as both a research tool and a warning to those who have disconnected from life. The soundlessness as people do their jobs simply listing the contents of a life that is done is sad, yet not depressing. The only intervention of music in the film comes in a brief moment as an ice cream truck passes by during filming, and at the credit sequence that ends the film. Greensleeves is played, and its musical singularity only multiplies its emotional impact, especially since the film ends near Christmas, signifying it connects to the Resurrection of Christ sung of in the Greensleeves inspired song What Child Is This?….Yet, A Certain Kind Of Death's value and filmic greatness comes also from restraint- in not going on too long, in not manipulating reality nor the viewer's emotions, and by letting images sink in. Often something interesting or shocking is followed by a several second long 'black screen.' For all the countless deaths shown on film in the century plus the medium has existed, none have ever been this realistic, for these deaths are real. Real people die, and are forgotten. The end. Or not, due to this film….This film is an invaluable document of not only a certain time in American history, but these certain people's lives and deaths, as well as those of the county workers who bandy about terms like dispo, decomp, drayage, and harvesting. That it also comments mightily on the living- such as the fact that all the most menial tasks of destroying and burying remains falls to black and Latino workers, makes this film even more valuable. It's no wonder this film won a Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. It is gritty yet poetic, and reinforced by its blackout moments, it forces cogitation upon the viewer, then, upon resumption, shuttles them along. The irony implicit in the film is that the very thing that made these three dead men perfect subjects for the film- their utter disconnect from the rest of humanity, and the genericness of their lives and deaths, is the very thing that assures that they will always be known, at least by documentary film buffs. That this says more of the living than the dead is precisely why A Certain Kind Of Death, with its Joe Friday 'Just the facts!' approach is a great documentary, and should be viewed and appreciated for many years to come.

robtakendall I really identified with this documentary because my father died in L.A. County and was cremated. Maybe I have a morbid sense of humor (or maybe I'm just a realist), but when I saw the scene with the industrial blender I was a little surprised at first, then I thought, "Oh my God, Daddy was in a blender!?" and laughed (knowing my father, he also would have thought that amusing - and you'll have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about).There's an old saying...there are two things you always do alone: you are born alone, and you die alone. This movie focuses on people who really do die alone, and the Los Angeles County Coroner's office staff who have the unfortunate job of disposing of the decedents and their respective property. There seems to be a lot of discussion on this board about the apartment that had to be cleaned out after one man died....the process, at least to me, was interesting to watch. The staff member was very thorough, had a checklist, and made sure that there was a witness (the landlord) to the entire procedure.The directors did a fine job on this documentary; it was an educational eye-opener. It showed the reality of death, and the professionalism and respect showed by the coroner's staff. I do hope the makers of this documentary will do another one soon.

xakarava I recently saw "A Certain Kind of Death" on Sundance and it literally blew my mind away. It was captivating because this documentary actually makes one appreciate life a lot more."A Certain Kind of Death" explores as to what happens to the unclaimed dead (the deceased with no RECORDED next of kin)when their corpses are now the care of the government (which in this case is LA county). Maybe many people have an idea what happens to the deceased John and Jane Does' of the world but this explores the nitty, gritty details as to what happens. I will not spoil it here or go into too much detail, but there are people whose job it is to take care of the unclaimed dead corpses and to them it's business as usual, but the images from their jobs will stick with you and I have, at least, learned to appreciate my family and most importantly my life after watching this story (in other words, don't take everyday life for granted for you never know....) This isn't a cheery documentary. It does make you think and feel. Some viewers have complained that the people in the film aren't passionate about their jobs. Well, since when processing corpses on a daily basis (mind you, some of these corpses are in pretty AWFUL shape) invokes passion??? This is what essentially happens when you die folks, there's no way around it. Some have pretty mahogany coffins with satin lining, others have 24k gold urns for their ashes, but their are many out there not so fortunate but in the end we all end up the same: ashes to ashes, dust to dust.I highly recommend this film.