800 Wörter für ein Leben (2016)

800 Wörter für ein Leben: Directed by Vanessa Gould. With Bruce Weber, William McDonald, Margalit Fox, William Grimes. Writers and editors from the New York Times discuss their unique approach to writing the obituaries of public figures.

“u0026quot;Obitu0026quot; (2016 release; 93 min.) is a documentary about the team of 4 or 5 obituary writers at the New York Times. As the movie opens, we see Bruce Weber, the NYT obit reporter, in discussion with the widow of someone who was a name in politics decades ago. We get to know the rest of the NYT obit team, and how they go about selecting whom to write up for tomorrowu0026#39;s print edition. At this point weu0026#39;re not even 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is the feature length documentary debut from director Vanessa Gould. Here she gets close access to how the team of NYT obit writers go about their business every day. Comments one: u0026quot;Obits have next to nothing to do with death, and everything with lifeu0026quot;, and in that sense of course obits are a celebration, but still you are dealing with life that has come to an end. Gould makes sure to cover all the bases of obit writing, including how to fact check and how to evaluate potential write-ups (u0026quot;a virtuous life doesnu0026#39;t mean itu0026#39;s newsworthyu0026quot;, comments another). If there is something missing in the movie, itu0026#39;s that there is zero tension, or even anything truly unexpected. Yes, itu0026#39;s fun to see how certain obscure figures (such as the guy who was the first ever to be a TV adviser in a presidential campaign–that would be the defining TV debate in 1960 between Nixon and Kennedy) get their moment in the light–albeit post-mortem). I also couldnu0026#39;t help but wonder, given how the newspaper industry is going, whether one day someone will be writing an obit about the NYT obit department…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI recently saw u0026quot;Obitu0026quot; at the Landmark E Street Cinema in Washington DC. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was packed to the rafters, as in: SOLD OUT to the very last seat, much to my surprise. Who knew there would be such an interest in this topic? I found the documentary mildly amusing but I have seen much more compelling documents recently (such as u0026quot;God Knows Where I Amu0026quot;). On the other hand, if you have a particular interest in obits, then by all means, this movie is for you and you should check it out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.”