The Art of Dying

I'm a big fan of Spanish cinema. This has nothing to do with what my passport says or my feelings of identity (these feelings have changed over the last decade, but my high consideration for Spanish cinema remains the same). Spanish Dramas or Social films are well known, but there are also many pretty good terror films (and thrillers, crime, even film noir). I've recently watched for a second time (the first time was around 12 years ago) a quite unknown piece, El Arte de Morir/The Art of Dying. I remember how much I enjoyed it the first time, and this second time the experience has been similar.

The aesthetics are pretty nice (of course I very much appreciate the references to El Bosco), the pace and the story are good and the acting of Fele Martinez (this guy will always have my huge respect after his performance in Tesis) is excellent. The key element in the film that makes of this film one to be remembered for me is the concept revealed at the end, that dying can be a gradual process, same as the process of being born takes 9 months, dying could take a long time. This does not refer to how we get close to death as the time passes by and our body ages, they are talking about what happens after the moment one person is considered dead. The body has turned off for sure, but maybe it's not the same for consciousness. Maybe this awareness is not immediately switched off, it just starts to decay, it starts to lose its memories and references until the moment all of them are lost, and then the real death occurs... Well, a pretty interesting idea I think.