'The Life of Death' Analysis

'The Life of Death' Analysis

'The Life of Death' is a short film, written and directed by Marcin Dubiniec, that chronicles the life of the character of Death, from childhood until death. 

The film opens with a wide establishing shot of a densely populated New York graveyard, as the film's sombre, downbeat score begins to play in the background. We are immediately led to believe that this film will be an emotional drama of sorts. We then get multiple shots of mundane everyday life in the city, such as the passing of trains and taxi cabs, children and dogs playing, as well as the sounds of drilling and car horns. As a man begins to open up his store, Death walks into frame and the camera begins to track him. Death is dressed in the traditional grim reaper gear, scythe included. Numerous shots of him walking across the city follow, as he goes relatively unnoticed by pedestrians. We are led to believe that nobody can see him, and that he is in search of his next victim. As he begins to cross the road he is suddenly hit by a car at full speed, with the score also promptly coming to a halt. 

What follows is a comedic montage of Death from childhood until his eventual death, his life clearly flashing before his eyes. The tone shifts from serious and sombre to comedic and lighthearted, with the score changing also. We get scenes of Death at a childhood birthday party, on Halloween and in school detention. The filmmakers have chosen to portray him as an ordinary human being, living a life similar to the majority. This transitions into his days at university, as well as attempting to work a printer (with his otherworldly hands) at what is presumably his first job. We then see him perform his duties as a grim reaper, taking the life of a hospital patient. Next he is seen drinking and reading a book titled 'How to Live', as the film continues with its comedic tone. The film cuts away from the montage and returns to the car accident, as an aerial shot zooms out on Death's prone body. What follows is a shot of a typical suburban house, as a phone begins to ring. We see a woman answer the phone, as miniature grim reapers play in the back garden. This is quite obviously his family. We don't hear the phone call but his wife's emotive reaction to it indicate that she has been informed of the accident. The final shot of the film features Death's children running out of frame, while playing in the back garden, as Death's scythe is clearly visible in the background, implying that he has died and that one of the children must now perform his duties. 

This film inspired us during the writing process for our short film as it is very similar in tone and in character portrayal. The film follows the character of Death, just as our film follows The Ferryman, a Greek mythical creature who also takes on the role of a grim reaper of sorts. This film is similar in its portrayal of its lead character as we also want to portray The Ferryman as an ordinary human being who has been chosen for this important task, with our film's introduction to him featuring him waking up at his desk, before walking to his next victim. The flashback montage sequence in 'The Life of Death' also inspired us to have a comedic flashback scene. However, ours is a little different, as it will be an interview scene, allowing the audience to see how he got the job. In our effort to portray our lead as a regular person, he has also been given a human name. Both 'The Life of Death' and 'River' (our short film) are similar in tone as they are both comedic, yet remain serious. However, our film will certainly be more of a drama than this short, as our film is quite dialogue-heavy, whereas this film didn't feature any.