Hot Docs Review: Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse

Thomas Haemmerli is a Swiss journalist dedicated to recording his life. On the eve of his fortieth birthday, he found out that his mother was dead. As he does with any life experience, he undertakes the task of recording the situation; however, the death isn't housed in normal circumstances. His mother was a "Messie" -- or pack-rat -- living in an apartment with memories and junk piled from floor to ceiling. To make the situation even more trying, she died alone, and was found after her body had begun to decompose. Just as he's poised to ring in four decades, he must deal with the death of his mother, clean up the shocking bits of her shell that remain and clear out dumpsters full of junk -- hence, Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse.

To deal with such a harrowing experience, Haemmerli and his brother turn to humor. Frankly, what else could they do? They talk of the smells of decomposition lingering well after the remains are cleaned up – it invades their noses, their minds and their clothes. Yet they have to move forward through the "universe of innumerous objects." The documentary is shocking and dark, but it works because of Thomas' blunt honesty. He doesn't mask the troubling aspects of his life, and he weaves piles of DV footage of the clean-up with home films, pictures and revealing voice-overs. The filmmaker might say that he detests self-help filmmaking, but the story is as much the document of one woman's life as it is about two sons trying to understand their mother.

As Thomas describes it, what remained of his mother was the "epitome of a wasted existence." While the documentary moves between old footage of their mother as a child and young woman to the sludge-like remains on the floor, it's jarring to see death in such an open and visceral way. But that's why the film works. There are both light and dark parts -- happy and sad; serious and mirthful. Haemmerli is unflinching in his honesty, similar to revealing filmmaker Caveh Zahedi. Thomas is prepared to reveal everything that he knows, both about himself and where he comes from. The revelations are, at once, both troubling and beautiful. His mother was far from a perfect person, but in his representation of her, you come to understand how this woman came to her ultimate end. The documentary follows the long path of her life from a volatile and acidic relationship with her mother and a messy love triangle between mom and daughter, to an almost sadistic relationship with her husband that ended in an even messier divorce.

The genetic clutter reveals each layer of the Haemmerli life. From pictures to cats, the tale unfolds with the help of a continuing back story and explanation. On the whole, Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse is more touching than troubling, because there is no fear in filling those holes and answering the questions people removed from the situation would naturally have. However, there are definitely some jarring scenes. The removal of their mother's remains is disturbing, but luckily it is because of the knowledge of what they're cleaning, not as much what you can see. The more cringe-worthy visual moment comes when Haemmerli talks about his mother's obsession with cats. Instead of glossing over the desire and leaving it as her being a crazy cat lady, he delves into humor and horror. On the one hand, you're chuckling as he discusses her smuggling in homeless cats from other countries, but then he also discusses her interest in animal testing and shows a collection of animal experiment pictures. They're shocking, but they also work as a metaphor for her – she's a human experiment shackled by the blows dealt to her by life.

It is hard to believe that Thomas Haemmerli could reveal so much about his and his mother's life, but by the end it all seems like part of their family's wheel of life. Clearing the junk in the room is tantamount to removing the junky, family drama in their heads. The revealing nature is sure to shock, and maybe even unnerve you, but Dumpsters takes its power in this honesty. Haemmerli could've dulled the sharp bits, and made it easier to digest, but that wouldn't make a real story – one with warts and all.