August documentaries explore death, creativity, the cosmos

By Brett Fieldcamp
July 21, 2025
Oklahoma City Free Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Deep in the throes of the superhero summer, it can be easy to forget that the most powerful and affecting film subjects don’t always need to spring from a writer’s imagination or a producer’s box office bets.

Just as the year’s blockbuster season is already sweeping up the grosses, the summer’s documentary slate is also heating up, spotlighting some very real people, projects, and ponderances that are just as outsized and extraordinary as any Hollywood fiction.

Of course, the documentary world is rarely filled with the happiest endings or the simplest subjects in the ways that the superhero fare might be, and this selection of heady, heart-wrenching docs is no exception.

The films here explore the complexities of illness, the mysteries of death, the tragedies of missed potential, and the staggering vastness of the cosmos themselves, all wrapped up in admissions of the limited understanding that we, as humans, can ever hope to have.

So sure, those topics might not sound as fun as a smiling, flying, red-caped super-protector or a space-faring super-family with a stretchy guy and a rock monster, but they make for some vital, life-affirming films.

And we should count ourselves lucky that OKC has some fantastic arthouse theaters willing to present them.

‘Susan’ – Rodeo Cinema – July 31st - 7pm

One of the standout documentary selections at this year’s deadCenter Film Festival, and a strikingly powerful subject based right here in Oklahoma, “Susan” examines the emotional aftermath and slow resignation following a world-shattering diagnosis.

Director Russ Kirkpatrick takes us into the life of Susan Suchan, a Tulsa resident originally misdiagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s before receiving the correct diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, a rare degenerative neurological disease that exacts a heavy, tragic toll on the brain’s ability to function.

But Kirkpatrick’s film isn’t just a medical doc examining the disease.

Instead, his camera captured Suchan’s fight to raise awareness and resources for the illness and to reconcile her family life with her understanding and acceptance of her own approaching end, something that she secretly sought to assume control of herself.

It’s a dense and powerful and heartbreaking subject, but it’s a story that needs to be told, if only so that the world might better understand the unique experiences and struggles of these kinds of diseases.

For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit rodeocinema.org.