Griefwalker

Stephen Jenkinson, the subject of Griefwalker, is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, but as a counselor to the terminally ill and their families at a Toronto hospital, he eschews taking a religious approach to preparing for death, except in the broadest sense. Noting that most patients are anxious over the prospect of dying and that treatment aimed at merely reducing pain doesn't deal with the reality of what's to come, Jenkinson embraces the cultural ideas of Canadian Indians—encouraging those he counsels to see their imminent demise not as something to be resisted and feared, but rather as a natural and necessary part of life that should be accepted. Director Tim Wilson, who became acquainted with Jenkinson when he was diagnosed with a serious condition himself, gives Jenkinson ample opportunity to offer his message in direct conversation and in voiceover passages set against beautiful rustic visuals. Griefwalker also follows Jenkinson as he visits patients, including a woman with cancer concerned about leaving her husband behind, and a couple whose young daughter is close to death. Griefwalker sometimes moves at a stately pace and occasionally strains for the poetic, but its critique of the modern Western way of looking at death is persuasive, and the alternative Jenkinson offers seems both profound and—judging from the reactions of those he helps—often very effective. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)