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SENIORS IN THE MOVIES – All Around the World

SENIORS IN THE MOVIES

Written by Dolores Luber

THE HERO
2017

The Hero is a movie written for Sam Elliot, age 73. He plays Lee Hayden, an actor well past his Hollywood heyday. It is Elliot’s ability to drawl out each syllable and live in the quiet moments that keeps the viewer interested. The film is very much about relationships. Elliot says, “I like to think at this point I’ve got some sharp tools in my bag…I just like to go in and work.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOING IN STYLE
2017

Going in Style starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin, is the octogenarian job you didn’t know you needed. A grudge against a bank caused by lost pensions leads them to become senior-citizen gangsters. The planning and the all important creation of credible alibis is at the core of the film. The goal is a perfect heist – rob a bank, get away with it, and go off into the sunset.

OUR SOULS AT NIGHT
2017

Our Souls at Night stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, both living alone, across the street from each other. Would you be so bold as to walk over to your neighbour and ask “Would you be interested in coming to my house to sleep with me?” She later adds, “It’s about getting through the night.” She is lonely. He is lonely. Why not? There is humour, awkwardness, obstacles to surmount, and tenderness in this film. Dignity is maintained. This is a tale of friendship and affection in later life.

 

 

 

 

HOLOCAUST MOVIE

 

 

 

 

A BAG OF MARBLES
2017

A Bag of Marbles (Un Sac de Billes) explores the Holocaust from the novel perspective of two young brothers living in Nazi-occupied France. They are forced to leave their close-knit family behind for the free-zone along the French Riviera. Although the movie is a dark reminder of The Holocaust, its heart-warming story with superb acting, reminds us that there are still good people in our darkest moments. In French with English subtitles.

FIRST FULL-LENGTH YIDDISH MOVIE IN 70 YEARS

MENASHE
2017

Menashe is a realistic portrayal of an Orthodox Jewish widower who is being pressured by his religious community of Skver Hasidim to yield the rearing of his 9-year-old son to others until he remarries. Menashe bucks authority, refuses to marry just anyone, and he wants to prove he can adequately provide a home for his son. But, he has faults, he isn’t perfect. It’s a warm, generous film that doesn’t shy away from sentimentality but doesn’t insult its audience either.

 

 

 

 

THE ISRAELI CONTINGENT

 

 

 

 

THE WOMEN’S BALCONY
2017

The Women’s Balcony is an eccentric portrait of a tight-knit Jewish community in Jerusalem which is suddenly pressured by a super Orthodox rabbi to observe their faith in a more rigid way. While the mood is that of a gentle and affectionate comedy, the film makes some extremely sharp points about fanaticism, sexism masked as holiness, and tolerance among the faithful. Surprisingly, the script is filled with humourous one-liners (all of these people are funny). When the women discover that their balcony will not be rebuilt, all hell breaks loose. The men of the community submit to the authority of the rabbi; the women fight back hard and win. Bravo!

In Hebrew with English subtitles.

THE WEDDING PLAN
2016

The Wedding Plan (the Hebrew title translates as “Through the Wall“) is directed by Rama Burnshtein (Fill the Void). The film features Noa Koler as Michal, a recent convert to ultra-Orthodoxy who is unlucky in love. There is a broken engagement, a wedding plan set for a month later and no groom. Michal chooses to keep the wedding date, positive that God will bring her a husband in time. In The Wedding Plan, the desperate search for love and connection, although rendered here through an ultra-Orthodox lens, is portrayed with not only charm and wit but also a keen sense of its universal appeal.

In Hebrew with English subtitles.

 

 

 

 

A VERY CANADIAN MASTERPIECE

 

 

 

 

MAUDIE
2016

Maudie stars Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, a beautifully matched pair who open up two closed people, unleashing torrents of feeling. Directed by Aisling Walsh, filmed in Nova Scotia, Maudie is based – or perhaps, more truly, inspired- by the life of Maud Lewis (1903-1970). A self-taught artist who lived in extreme poverty much of her adult life, Lewis struggled with rheumatoid arthritis, painting bold, colourful scenes with brushes tucked in a tiny, gnarled hand. The realities of the lives of Maud and Everett are brutal, at times shocking; yet slowly a supportive and warm relationship is formed. A beautiful, uplifting tale worthy of an Oscar.

FOREIGN FILM

VICTORIA & ABDUL
2017

Victoria & Abdul portrays the true story of a royal friendship in a nest of vipers. Judi Dench is once again Queen Victoria (Your Majesty, Mrs. Brown). Queen Victoria is rescued from her cynicism and the charade of royalty by Abdul, a handsome, kind Muslim, an Indian functionary, who befriends her. She adores him, he cares for her and respects her. The generally snobbish and often racist British establishment of the day detests the munshi as Abdul is called. Victoria will have none of it; she resists their hateful accusations, insists on his presence and persists in her friendship. I adored this movie! The scenery is gorgeous, the script is clever. I was enthralled and moved by this true story.