NewMexiKen recommends you see the film Away From Her starring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent and Olympia Dukakis. The film was released last year and is available on DVD. It’s an adaptation from Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.”
In its way it’s the most depressing film I’ve ever seen, yet strangely redeeming — and valuable for what you might learn. I wish I had seen it five years ago; I would have understood my dad’s reaction to the death of my stepmother better, if nothing else.
Life is so f***in’ perverse.
Update: Munro’s story is online — The Bear Came Over the Mountain.