Goodbye Words

In the aftermath of a death, a home is cleaned out; the accumulation of a life is removed in bags and recycle bins. But what becomes of the collection of books? Laura Rantanen’s resoundingly moving and wistful documentary reflects on the end of life, what lingers behind, and the moments when a book breaks through the monotony to open the world around us.

2023

0h 22min

Top Billed Cast

No Cast found

Similar movies

Arthur Miller: Writer
Arthur Miller: Writer
08 Dec 2017
Arthur Miller: Writer
One of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, Arthur Miller created such celebrated works as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, which continue to move audiences around the world today. He also made headlines for being targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee at the height of the McCarthy Era and entering into a tumultuous marriage with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Told from the unique perspective of his daughter, filmmaker Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller: Writer is an illuminating portrait that combines interviews spanning decades and a wealth of personal archival material, and provides new insights into Miller’s life as an artist and exploring his character in all its complexity.
Los prohibidos
Los prohibidos
08 Nov 2019
Los prohibidos
Documentary film that follows Silvana Castro, a woman who works at the National Congress Library in Argentina where the books that were forbidden during the military dictatorship are kept. After the exhibition of the books is suspended, she'll try to open it again.
Father's Kingdom
Father's Kingdom
11 Nov 2017
Father's Kingdom
This is the untold story of a remarkable American civil rights pioneer, Father Divine, who at one time had over a million followers worldwide in his Peace Mission Movement. However, things became complicated when he claimed that he was God incarnate.
To the Sea
To the Sea
01 Feb 2010
To the Sea
Before leaving for Rome with his mother, five year old Natan is taken by his father, Jorge, on an epic journey to the pristine Chinchorro reef off the coast of Mexico. As they fish, swim, and sail the turquoise waters of the open sea, Natan discovers the beauty of his Mayan heritage and learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface, as the bond between father and son grows stronger before their inevitable farewell.
Do You Hear Me?
Do You Hear Me?
01 Jan 1965
Do You Hear Me?
A meditative essay.
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know
18 Mar 2020
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know
Black holes stand at the limit of what we can know. To explore that edge of knowledge, the Event Horizon Telescope links observatories across the world to simulate an earth-sized instrument. With this tool the team pursues the first-ever picture of a black hole, resulting in an image seen by billions of people in April 2019. Meanwhile, Hawking and his team attack the black hole paradox at the heart of theoretical physics—Do predictive laws still function, even in these massive distortions of space and time? Weaving them together is a third strand, philosophical and exploratory using expressive animation. “Edge” is about practicing science at the highest level, a film where observation, theory, and philosophy combine to grasp these most mysterious objects.
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
16 Apr 2010
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn't end well— with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn't far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe's personal mission to regain his health.
Midnight Kids
Midnight Kids
19 Oct 2020
Midnight Kids
Utquiagvik is the northernmost city in Alaska, located 555 km beyond the Arctic Circle. This meditative documentary follows its young Inuit inhabitants, who explore the desolate snowy landscape under the midnight sun and transform their home into a vast playground full of melting glaciers and abandoned ships.
7 Vidas
7 Vidas
27 Jun 2025
7 Vidas
A community of cats lives in the Soledade Cemetery Park in Belém. "7 Vidas" follows these animals through a fictional letter written by one of them to his former owner. With real images of the cats among graves and trees, the film builds a sensitive narrative about abandonment, freedom and memory, revealing the poetry hidden in the coexistence between life and death.
Sacred Alaska
Sacred Alaska
23 Nov 2023
Sacred Alaska
Sacred Alaska is an award-winning documentary that offers an intimate look into Native Alaskan culture and spirituality. From the Native perspective, the land, the water, the animals, and plants – all creation is sacred and connected. Through beautiful cinematography and powerful storytelling, Sacred Alaska underscores the profound, sacred bond between the Alaskan people, their faith, and the formidable landscape they call home.
Me voy. Me voy
Me voy. Me voy
06 Nov 2021
Me voy. Me voy
December 31, 2015. The Valencian bookstore Valdeska closed its doors permanently after forty years of activity. The result of four years of monitoring and filming, these 31 minuts of run time are part of a book unread, unknown and undiscovered. "Me voy. Me voy" it's not the story of a bookstore, not the portrait of an exceptional bookseller, it's a will to attach the things in the filmed image, to make something lasting showing the moment of its disappearence.
Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]
Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]
11 Nov 2024
Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]
In a leafy forest, a Galician sovereign who longs to attain wisdom meets a sorcerer, who tells him: “Go back to your country and study the Earth and the Stars in the sky; anywhere in the world reflects an image of it. You will ride on this arrow, which you must keep for a hundred years and a day. After this time, stick it in the widest valley of all those you possess, with the tip facing the sky. Then the Moon will come and, just as it exerts its action on the waters of the sea, it will act on the arrow, turning it into a holy mountain." - Legend about the Pico Sacro Inspired by Hokusai's views of Mount Fuji and Cézanne's paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire, "Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]" aims to reveal the mystery and the magic that underlie reality.
Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco
Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco
10 Oct 2012
Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco, the author of best-selling novels who passed away in February 2016, unveils the secrets behind his undertakings and novels.
Feeler
Feeler
27 Jun 2016
Feeler
16mm film by Paul Clipson, and music by Sarah Davachi. Filmed in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Krakow, Sidney, Portland, Napa, Oakland and San Francisco.
To Be Destroyed
To Be Destroyed
11 Aug 2024
To Be Destroyed
A 30-minute documentary on book banning and censorship that follows author Dave Eggers as he investigates why a Rapid City, SD school board wanted to ban his book.
The ABCs of Book Banning
The ABCs of Book Banning
16 Feb 2024
The ABCs of Book Banning
In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues. By weaving together a lyrical montage of young readers and authors, THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING reveals the voices of the impacted parties, and inspires hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.
Girls State
Girls State
18 Jan 2024
Girls State
What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? In this documentary, young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds in Missouri navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.
Marble and Concrete
Marble and Concrete
03 Jun 2022
Marble and Concrete
A documentary that invites the viewer to immerse themselves in a intimate and thoughtful walk through Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona, better know as "El Santet", to see what is happening at its surrounding areas and, especially, inside: work, buildings, people watching over those who are no longer here, cemetery workers... A trip through a space that is closer than we think.
Uku ukai
Uku ukai
24 Nov 2006
Uku ukai
Sorrow does not come merely from contemplating death, which forces us to look into Eternity, but also from life, which compels us to confront Time", wrote Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyayev. Renowned Lithuanian documentarist Audrius Stonys took these words as a motto for his latest film, a meditative visual essay which portrays old people undertaking all kinds of activities, meditation and group laughter therapy. Without a single word of commentary, he creates from sophisticated, aesthetic images a compelling study of human corporeality which, in an ideal union with spiritual equilibrium, can sustain us with the pledge that old age doesn't have to be a painful wait for the last breath.
Ghuza da Sher
Ghuza da Sher
Ghuza da Sher
The story of Nisar Ahmed Khan, told through his children and the people he served, a spiritual guide whose followers still visit his tomb on his birth and death anniversaries. And alongside how his family spends a few days at the village keeping his traditions alive.