It’s challenging to create a documentary about a subject in the final stages of life, but ‘A Fly on the Wall’ manages to keep its humanity while still creating an impactful film. Directors Nilesh Maniyar and Shonali Bose’s documentary is not to be missed.
Nilesh Maniyar and Shonali Bose mark their fourth collaboration with A Fly on the Wall. The film presents a daunting task, being present for Chika Kapadia’s final days of life as a filmmaker and also as a friend. It’s a difficult job, one that Bose, a close friend of Kapadia’s, manages to pull off fairly successfully.
Kapadia has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given four short months to live. He takes his fate into his own hands by choosing to go to Switzerland for a physician-assisted death. As a final wish, Kapadia asked Bose to make a film based on his final moments, and thus, A Fly on the Wall was born.
Journal entries from the days leading up to his death are used as transitions between scenes. I was invested in Kapadia and his life from the moment the film started. But the addition of the journal entries gave me a greater look at the man I was watching on screen. I admired his attitude towards his upcoming death. His passing was a scene that I personally was not looking forward to viewing. I had spent over an hour getting to know this insightful comedian, and I didn’t want to let him go.
In Kapadia’s final moments, he recites Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ before he peacefully passes away. At this point, tears were flowing down my face.
The film’s credits are overlaid with shots of the waters of the Raja Ampat Islands. I had noticed this as a callback to the first scene of the film, where a friend offers to spread some of Kapadia’s ashes in the water.
After the credits, a clip of Kapadia’s stand-up comedy plays, giving me a closer look at a man I will never get to know. A Fly on the Wall is playing at the New York Indian Film Festival on June 21.
