Four directors take wildly different looks at mortality

Auteurs may be known for the distinctive personal themes their films often address. Of course, Azazel Jacobs’ “His Three Daughters,” Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” offer wildly different looks at mortality, with their creators’ signatures all over them. “It’s the biggest story of all of our lives,” says Jacobs, whose Netflix feature brings adult siblings, played by Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen, back to the claustrophobic New York apartment where they grew up to await their dying father’s final breath in a barely seen other room. “This began for me by getting the news that one of my parents has a degenerative disease that will end their life,” indie mainstay Jacobs, 52, says regarding “Three Daughters.” He continues to care for his 83-year-old mother, Flo, and father, 91-year-old experimental film icon Ken Jacobs, in the Manhattan loft where they played versions of themselves in Azazel’s 2008 feature “Momma’s Man.” “I had a window of time to work on this, understanding that very soon after shooting I would become much more involved in being a caretaker,” Jacobs adds. “We call it luxury senior living, the new baby boomer phenomenon, which says nursing homes can be like the Ritz-Carlton,” cracks the “Taxi Driver” screenwriter, whose many directing efforts include a movie adaptation of another Banks novel, “Affliction.” “For the last decade, I’ve taken the attitude: If this was my last film, would it be a good last film?” Schrader continues.