Film Review ETIENNE!: A Film about the Little Things in Life

Abstract

I have to admit that I had no intention of reviewing this film for publication. My journey to the hostel on the beach in Sausalito was meant purely to be a fun night out at a special event with a colleague when she made the comment, “You’re reviewing this movie tonight, aren’t you?” The thought had never occurred to me. Why would a bona fide clinical ethicist want to review a movie about the end-of-life vacation of a hamster with terminal cancer? I mean really, I have to be serious about my work! Then the film started rolling ... Etienne, a dwarf hamster with a diagnosis of terminal cancer, isn’t the star of the film as I assumed; rather, Richard, loving owner, is the star. Richard’s goofiness and nerdy appearance is captivating. He takes you on his (mostly) bicycle journey from Laguna Beach in Southern California to Sausalito in Northern California, with a hand-crafted basket carrying Etienne hanging from the handlebars. In the days prior, Richard, who is taking a “sabbatical” from his mixed media art classes, has been informed that his best friend has terminal cancer. The veterinarian’s advice is euthanasia as soon as possible; however, the office receptionist suggests that Etienne “live life out loud” till its natural end. Richard opts for plan B and the adventure begins. Etienne’s “vacation” is Richard’s attempt to show the hamster how much he/she is loved and valued; it is also meant to be Etienne’s last hurrah. Up until now, Etienne’s life had been lived out in a series of hand-crafted domiciles, built by Richard with the best of design intent, but not always with structural integrity. Now, the hamster is running the beach and hiking the trails. In life and in death, Richard sets out to ensure that Etienne will shine. Convinced he cannot cure the disease, he aims to give total comfort and serenity during Etienne’s last days of life. Toward the end of the movie, somewhat awkwardly, a new character enters: Elodie. Her plight as a jilted college student who is also on “sabbatical” makes the two stories eventually collide. In some ways, Elodie can be a bit distracting, but she is a thread that pulls the movie together at its conclusion. The parallel to what is often seen when human patients are transitioned to comfort care is vivid. On the other hand, the caring images in the film between owner and animal also bring to mind the painfully difficult images encountered in hospitals when families refuse to transition their loved ones to comfort care and instead insist on their continued torture with needles, knives, and tubes of all sorts at the end of life. It seems that, sometimes, pets can get better endof-life care than genetic relations. This film affirms the importance of the “little things in life”, but what are these “little things” that the movie refers to? Rather than give up the plot, you will have to see the movie for yourself, as I suspect Bioethical Inquiry (2009) 6:513–514 DOI 10.1007/s11673-009-9189-7