14May
Stolen Time
Stolen Time successfully portrays the depth and scope of the human pain and suffering caused by the systemic failure of corporations to provide adequate care in nursing homes.
Newest Film Reviews
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30Jan
Familiar Touch
When Canadian actor/director Sarah Polley chose an Alice Munro short story about a woman with dementia entering an aged care home as the focus for her first feature film (Far From Her, Polley, 2006), critics remarked that it was unusual—and courageous—subject matter for a young woman making her directorial debut.
30Jan
When Fall is Coming
In a scene towards the end of When Fall Is Coming, one character observes wearily of her son, “he wants to do right, but always does wrong.” It is the perfect summation of the motivations and actions of virtually every character in Francois Ozon’s film.
08Oct
A Kind of Madness
The one-line description of this movie most often used to describe it goes like this: “A 70-year-old man abducts his wife from her retirement home and goes on the run from their adult children.” The trailer for the film dramatically reinforces that description.
08Oct
A Man on the Inside
Creating a documentary that accurately reflects day-to-day life in a residential care facility is nearly impossible. Most eldercare residences have strict policies that prohibit any video recording within the building. In 2019, Chilean filmmaker Maete Alberdi did manage to bring a film crew into an eldercare residence.
11Mar
The Substance
The Substance joins a provocative history of films that have tackled the fate of women as they age in (and out of) the entertainment industry.
11Feb
Thelma
The “elder odyssey” has been described as a long-standing tradition that can be traced throughout cinema history (Shary & McVittie, 2016). This narrative form often combines the “road movie” or journey film with a quest for some kind of resolution or redemption for the aging central protagonist. I
11Oct
Perfect Days
If you have ever wondered if it is possible to make an absorbing 2-hr film where the central protagonist cleans toilets for a living, doesn’t speak for an hour, and not much happens, Perfect Days (Wenders, 2023) answers that question.
10Oct
Jules
Jules is an entertaining and engaging film. It also has, embedded within it, a refreshing regard for human oldness. On the face of it, the film shows the typical societal attitude toward older individuals. Milton and his acquaintances are often ignored or mildly tolerated. However, scattered here and there within the film are little gems of age acceptance.
30Sep
What We Leave Behind
“Grandpa was a mystery to me as a kid. I didn’t know how to talk to him. He’d smoke a lot and bring me milk fudge and tamarind candy.”
30Nov
80 for Brady
“It’s better than I expected it to be.” That’s what I said to my wife after we finished watching 80 for Brady. From the preview clips (which one should never trust), I expected some ditzy rendition of four older women friends taking a trip to see their hero, Tom Brady, play in the Super Bowl.