Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

Funny, warm, and poignant, this movie was conceived by an experienced documentarian who decided to film her affable octogenarian father pretending to die (in the trailer a stuntman dressed as Dick falls down the stairs) in order to help her deal with her eventually losing him. Jack and I loved it. The Oscar-nominated documentary category is a close race this year! My running list of nominees and winners has the docs at the end.

Kirsten Johnson and her father are a delight as they deal realistically and affectionately with his aging, including some fantasy sequences. Her co-writer is Nels Bangerter.

My interest was piqued when I spotted the name of filmmaker Ira Sachs in the credits. Though Kirsten mentions her children's "two dads," she doesn't go into detail. Apparently she bore twins Viva and Felix (who are in the movie) with an egg donor and sperm from Sachs, who is married to painter Ben Torres. Here's a 2016 article about them.

There's no composer credited but here is a list of songs.

Sachs directed Love Is Strange, about an aging gay couple. Kirsten Johnson has worked as a cinematographer on many docs and director on one other documentary feature. Dick Johnson is still alive (as of today!), though he has long retired from his career as a psychiatrist and now lives in a memory care facility.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are vibrant with a perfect average of 100%, while its audiences are slightly more moribund at 78.

Jack and I both commented several times about the apparent big budget. Well, that's Netflix! We streamed it on that platform on Tuesday March 30.