Ondi Timoner and her father, Eli Timoner, in Last Flight Home (MTV Documentary Films)

Depicting the last days of her father, 92-year-old Eli, Ondi Timoner has a made a film as heartbreaking and sad as any I’ve ever seen. Despite its profoundly sorrowful subject matter, Timoner has made a documentary that is so much more than merely heart tugging.

It all starts with Eli Timoner, who makes use of California’s End of Life Option Act to die on his own terms. Eli—who has had various painful physical ailments for the past four decades, ever since he had a stroke after a 1982 freak accident—lets his family know that he has earned the right to decide when he wants to die, and they agree to be there for him: his wife, Elissa (called Lisa); his son, David; and his daughters Rachel and Ondi.

Ondi unflinchingly records the emotionally fraught days that the entire family deals with once Eli sets events in motion: After two doctors agree that he is of sound mind to make such an important decision, there is a mandatory 15-day waiting period before the deed can be done. That time frame makes up much of the film as the family members—along with the understanding if sometimes ambivalent hospice workers—prepare themselves mentally, logically, and ethically once Eli’s choice is made clear.

The living room of Eli and Lisa’s modest Los Angeles home is where his bed has been set up, and Last Flight Home really hits home during the personal, almost too intimate interactions among Eli and his wife, children, grandchildren (who are there to see their beloved “Pop Pop”), and longtime friends. The title references both Eli’s final journey and his storied career as the founder of Air Florida, a once successful low-cost airline established in the early 1970s. After his debilitating stroke, he was quickly pushed out of his executive position by the airline board, and the family rallied around their patriarch, providing needed emotional support during the difficult years that followed.

That support is seen during Eli’s final days, which occur in early 2021. Director Ondi is both behind and in front of the camera, and her moments sitting and talking with her father are among the most moving. However, it’s daughter Rachel who quickly becomes the spiritual center of the family. A rabbi who lives in Brooklyn, Rachel arrives and leads the family in the rituals that are comforting during such times. Her gentle manner and grace under pressure helps Eli come to terms with the burden he’s been shouldering.

As desperately saddening as the subject matter is, Last Flight Home never becomes maudlin. Eli’s the dynamic center of the family, even while bedridden. He has words of wisdom for everyone, sometimes laced with sardonic quips, including his evisceration of Donald Trump while on a Zoom call with Rachel early on. (Needless to say, although she agrees with the sentiment, she’s taken aback by the viciousness with which he makes it.) The final takeaway in Ondi Timoner’s insightful documentary is that of a united family bound by love and commitment.