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All Film Reviews

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11Jul

Ageless

At last. From 2012 to the present, we have reviewed more than four dozen documentary films dealing with several major topics in gerontology and adult development, and aging. Though not excluded by intention, nowhere among those films was one devoted specifically to ageism.
11Jun

My Claire

My Claire is a very brief feature (cinematic) film about Henry, an elderly man trying to cope with the recent death of his beloved spouse, Claire. At its onset, we are immediately made aware that this film deals with death, grief, and mourning. Henry is having a tough time of it
11Jun

Ordinary Love

Rarely does a major motion picture come along that captures the nuanced and everyday character of the love between long-married couples. When movies do tell the love stories of older adults, they usually fall back on the commonly sought-after romantic stories of new love.
11Jun

Fighting for Dignity

Fighting for Dignity, directed by Eilon Caspi and Judy Berry, is a provocative, and, at times, shocking video about injurious and fatal resident-to-resident incidents in long-term care. Viewer discretion is advised at the outset due to some scenes containing graphic images of victim injuries and acts of violence resulting in serious physical injury.
21May

Linking Up: The Graying of AIDs

Well-known gerontologist Dr. James Birren once told me that in the late 1940s, all of the gerontologists in the United States could fit comfortably in one modest size hotel meeting room. He should know; he was there. Thanks to the leadership of Birren and so many others, modern gerontology has advanced vigorously since those days. Since its founding in 1945, the Gerontological Society of America has provided a formal organization for linking the diverse disciplines defining the study of aging and aged individuals.
29Mar

Head Full of Honey

Many contemporary films that deal with dementia focus on the role of the caregiver and the complex issues involved in supporting a family member living with dementia. Head Full of Honey falls into this category, but is unusual in having a youthful protagonist in the central caring role.
11Mar

The Story of Shadow and Light: Giving Voice to an Alzheimer’s Journey

Who would have thought that the experience of living with Alzheimer’s could be set to music? In Eugene, Oregon a music conductor, Diane Retallack, having experienced two generations of dementia in her family, knew that there could be great value in bringing a musically artistic expression to that experience.
24Feb

Breath Made Visible

By presenting and teaching a form of dance that enables deep personal reflection and healing,
21Feb

The Elders: Everyone is a Story

An adult developmentalist recently told me that the main reason he enjoyed studying older adults is because “their bodies contain so many interesting variables” that are easily extracted with quantitative measures. To be sure, variable-oriented developmental science has contributed significantly to our understanding of the aging process.
21Feb

Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

This film opens on an interview with 82 year-old George (“Jack”) William Hall. Twenty-one years ago, his son—hooked on drugs as a teenager—“finally hanged himself.” Jack explains: “One day this dope dealer was bragging about how he made his money. He didn’t make no more. I stopped him.”
11Feb

Lifting Up the Voices of Older Survivors

Lifting Up the Voices of Older Survivors is a smartly conceived, highly useful online platform comprised of nine brief “stand alone” videos and neatly designed supporting materials targeting elder abuse. We have reviewed other informative videos dealing with elder abuse in the past (Scheidt, 2012, 2017). However, Lifting Up the Voices of Older Survivors is unique.
11Feb

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne is a stylish, engrossing, and ultimately sad film about an 84-year-old Black American woman who achieved fame and notoriety as a world-class jewel thief in a career that spans 64 years. In the opening and closing scenes of the video, Doris, then 80 years old, is accused of stealing an $8,000 diamond ring from a Macy’s store in San Diego.
11Feb

Alive Inside: Reprise

Perhaps the greatest power of documentary film is its ability to reveal to us experiences, feelings, and events that might have otherwise remained beyond our awareness and our imagination. Two years ago in this space ( Scheidt, 2013 ), I reviewed a brief version of “Alive Inside,” a video by Michael Rossato-Bennett.
11Feb

From Nine to Ninety

From Nine to Ninety deals with a common family situation in the United States—providing care for older adults within a multigenerational household setting. It focuses on a single family that shares the common challenges faced by many other families that currently struggle with adult caregiving.
31Jan

You See Me

The premise of this interesting and multilayered film is revealed at the outset: Videographer Linda Brown created You See Me (http://youseememovie.com/) in hopes of achieving a better understanding of her father, Stanley Brown, a man she loved but “wonder if I ever really knew.”
31Jan

Finding Tatanka

Videographer Jacob Bricca created Finding Tatanka to gain greater understanding of his father, Kit Bricca. He hoped to fill in blank spots that have remained in their relationship across the years and, hopefully, to reach a resolution that might enrich it. The result is a video case study of this father–son relationship and more largely, of a visionary known over the years as Kit, Chris Cougar, Buffalo, Buffalo Waves in the Breeze, and Tatanka .
Movies About Aging and Elderhood