"Dormant Beauty" (Italy–France, 2012)

As the Hippocratic adage goes, "First, do no harm," medicine is not omnipotent. Osamu Tezuka introduced Dr. Kiriko, the euthanasia doctor, in Black Jack precisely because he recognized the limits of medicine. Euthanasia is defined as a request made by those suffering from incurable, terminal illnesses accompanied by unbearable pain, while "death with dignity" refers to a decision made by someone with an incurable, terminal illness, regardless of pain. With the growing awareness of palliative care, the topic of dignified death has also reached ethical committees.

In 2009, a dignified death case shook the entire Italian nation. Seventeen years earlier, Eluana, then 21, had fallen into a vegetative state following a car accident. Her parents petitioned to withdraw life-prolonging treatment, and in 2008, the Supreme Court upheld their request. However, then-Prime Minister Berlusconi, backed by the Church and conservative factions, attempted to pass a law to force her continued treatment.

Set against this social backdrop, Dormant Beauty interweaves three stories in omnibus form.

Uliano, a member of parliament, once euthanized his wife, who was in a terminal and incurable condition.

Rossa, a drug addict who had been hospitalized twenty times, cuts her wrists inside the hospital. After awakening from a coma, she attempts to commit suicide by jumping.

A famous actress devotes herself to caring for her vegetative daughter Rosa. She sees her own child in Eluana and is moved to tears by the media coverage.

Not all those who fall into comas are beautiful women. Titles can be misleading. But be that as it may, discussing only "dignified death" feels hollow when people’s very foundations for living are being shaken.

Dormant Beauty© 2012 Cattleya Srl - Babe Films SAS