It shows us that life has little detours, all the way to the end.
The law required him to first find a resident Northern Territory specialist in Bell’s illness, someone who would confirm in writing the man’s terminal diagnosis. Legal challenges to the act were yet to be announced. So, a month or so after Max Bell had returned home to die, the first legal euthanasia death under the Act took place.
Because of the publicity surrounding his situation, there was absolutely no chance that any physician in that hospital was going to do anything to induce death as happens in so many cases.
We also find ourselves, in the midsection, yearning for more screen time between Rex and Polly, who make a delightfully unlikely couple.Yet, this film is always pleasant to watch.
Rex will consider no treatment under any circumstances, for him ‘Hospital is not an option’. The Act had come into effect in July 1996.The leading proponent of euthanasia in Australia at that time was Dr Philip Nitschke. Rex isn’t an unlovable sort, and he’s integral to his social circle in Broken Hill, so it makes sense that his absence is immediately felt.
‘“Last Cab to Darwin,” a charming Aussie euthanasia road-trip movie, takes a tough subject and amiably rides it out into the Outback sunset.
And Aussie women were generally portrayed as all of the above – in a dress.I am primarily referring to seventies rubbish such as Queenslander Michael Caton is not generally listed among this country’s top players. He makes his movies at home where he has become, if not exactly a household Caton is excellent as Rex, a cab driver in Broken Hill, New South Wales in 1996. With no-one to hinder the thing, it quickly passed through both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. In my opinion, most of the early screen efforts painted Australian men as stereotypes; loud, foul-mouthed, country bumpkins, forever running about with a beer in their hands and calling each other ‘cobber’. But both these important issues aside, it is Mr. Caton’s performance that grabs us. It’s a wry film that remains upbeat without betraying its rough-around-the-edges cast of characters.But when Rex discovers that he has terminal stomach cancer, then reads that euthanasia is available in far-off Darwin, he gets his affairs in order and hops in his cab for a trip to his final destination: death. As Caton himself said of it, ‘It’s not the ending, it’s the journey.’ The movie is based on Reg Cribb’s successful stage play, which in turn is based on actual events.
It overturned the Northern Territory Act and, just like that, The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act ceased to exist.
It was August 1996 when Max made the decision to take advantage of the freshly minted Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 in the Northern Territory. Whether or not I would personally utilize it, given the chance, I do not know.
But, like a great many Australians, I would at least prefer to make that choice for myself. Terminally ill Rex (Michael Caton) decides to drive his taxi to see a right-to-die doctor in “Last Cab to Darwin.”Terminally ill Rex (Michael Caton) decides to drive his taxi to see a right-to-die doctor in “Last Cab to Darwin.” Any such ‘helping hand’ would have been meticulously investigated, so poor Max had to endure his hideous condition right to the very end.In September 1996 the opposition to voluntary euthanasia, mainly Catholics, introduced a bill that was supported by both the Liberal and Labor leaders. Not just about voluntary euthanasia, but about the racism that still exists in parts of Australia as well. In other words, the dying man had to acquire written proof that his desire to be euthanized was not some kind of treatable death wish!It quickly became apparent that no doctor or psychiatrist in Darwin was willing to alienate the government, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) or the church, by signing something that would enable Max Bell to die in any way other than naturally. So, Max returned home to Broken Hill where he died three weeks later – ‘precisely in the way he most dreaded’, said Nitschke, ‘slowly, and with the process out of his control.’Then, in September 1996, a doctor was found who was willing to sign (albeit anonymously) a confirmation for another terminally ill man, Bob Dent. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. He had already died a miserable, slow death, courtesy of the powerful opponents of euthanasia legislation in Australia.On You Tube there is a five minute clip of Max Bell’s final days in hospital. It is beautifully acted and scripted.
The only place in Australia he can The synopsis, at first glance, suggests the picture is most likely to be an exercise in morbidity, but first glances can be deceiving. He was prepared to help in the voluntary euthanasia process, but there were a couple of road blocks placed in front of him.
But he should be.
Although I am Australian through and through, born and bred in Fremantle, Western Australia where I have lived almost my entire life, I have never been a fan of Australian-made movies.