Young @ Heart (2008)

I dare anyone in the audience to walk out of the theatre with a dry eye. This documentary will crash through your emotional armor with its insightful look at the power of the human spirit. We are soon introduced to the members of a singing group made of senior citizens who perform rock and punk numbers, adding their own personal touches.In less than two hours, we are treated to emotional, entertaining, and always amusing renditions of tunes by The Bee Gees, The Clash, and Coldplay among others, and everyone of the performances is exuberant, poignant, wonderful, a shot of energy to the souls of the performers and the members of both the screen audience, and most importantly, for those of us sitting in the dark movie theatre.Not everything is a happy moment, though, because we're after exploring the third act in the lives of many on the screen. This is a vulnerable group, people who have lived, in most cases long lives, and there is very little regret expressed by any of the members of the singing group. In fact, they are inspiring us in most cases, and it is catastrophic when it is soon revealed that we could lose so many of them during key moments in the film. Moreover, we are warned, and we are still feel our hearts break, when tragedy strikes.Most importantly, the delivery by each of the performers is coloured by each of those events, and the joy, pain, drama, and conflicted emotions by each of the songwriters comes truly alive as the senior citizens performs. "Fix Me", one of the numbers will probably have everyone in the audience running for the shirt sleeves or an extra napkin to dab an unexpected tear.The documentary explores the sunset in the lives of humans, but it also tells us that life is best when lived fully, with no regrets, appreciating every single minute as it is the last, but never forgetting how frail our existence can truly be. This movie works wonders.

Young@Heart would have been my favorite for the Oscar for best documentary awarded in February 2009. It was not on the list. The film is about seniors who never give up, who entertain rather than complain and who love to perform.A serious theme running through the film which is what choices people make in dealing with aging. These seniors find the courage to do something new even though some of them are loitering around death's door. The film deals with the healing power of music. Music transforms these senior citizens and gives them purpose and joy. When they perform, they feel no pain; they are not elderly any more; they have no complaints, and they inspire.Skillfully edited, the documentary tells stories of magnetic people who find joy in performing and bringing joy to others. The rock videos spaced in the film are brilliant and funny. It is fun to watch these senior citizens adapt to edgy music and learn to sing it. They struggle to comprehend what they hear. They struggle to master the lyrics. They work hard to adapt to the changes in music. We root for them, and they succeed.There weren't many films much better than this in the documentary category. This film was robbed by the Academy. Some old geezers should have wobbled up to the stage at the Kodak Theater with their walkers and shown those whippersnappers how they get on with the business of living.

I am not one for documentaries or nonfiction as they usually don't allow me to escape inside the film to get a release from the life I'm living. I generally enjoy fiction because of the fantastical and its ability to bring me into a world that I wouldn't otherwise enter. With that said, I can't tell you how surprised I was at how much I enjoyed this chorus of old folks that are truly Young@Heart. Straight from the get-go, this choral troupe inspires, entertains, and just lives life to the fullest. Acting as though they are still in their twenties—taking shots at each other, flirting, and singing their hearts out—the Young at Heart chorus shows its audience what it means to grow old and enjoy every minute of it. Credit filmmaker Stephen Walker for keeping a somewhat unobtrusive eye on the proceedings, infusing himself into the group, joining the family. He says how he has gained 24 or so more grandparents through the process and I would also say they all gained one more grandchild. The comfortability with their documentarian is 100%, allowing this film to inspire us all for the future and show how pure the heart can be.These elderly crooners are a blast to spend time with. When shown the new songs for an upcoming concert, all have a mixture of excitement and confusion. During the first run-through of Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia" we see fingers going into ears, face-cringes, and what could be described as disgust. However, they all welcome a challenge and although they don't understand the song, nor have a clue at where it's going, they never give up. Credit music director Bob Cilman for having the patience and skill to mold these performers into an act of shear professionalism and entertainment. He knows his group and their abilities, placing certain solo responsibilities on some, duet partnerships on others, always knowing that they will give their all no matter what. At first you may think he is just a vessel for them to have fun, joking around and partaking in the laughs, but as the time gets closer and closer to the performance, Bob shows his taskmaster side. He wants the best show possible and is unafraid to let his singers know it, whether telling them what he needs or threatening to cut a song. The group never falters, though. They take the criticism and run with it. When challenged to come back after Easter with the words to Allen Toussaint's "Yes, We Can Can" fully learned, the Northampton, MA troupe show their mettle and eventually hit it out of the park.The music is fantastic for sure, I think I may purchase their disc from CDBaby.com before the night is over, but it is really the people involved that shine on screen. Every member is an integral cog to the system and just brimming with life and energy. From Steve "Sexy Beast" Martin and his exuberance, to consummate professional Joe Benoit and his ability to memorize a song in one afternoon, to his best friend and confident driver Len Fontaine, to the flirtatious 92-year-old Eileen Hall, there is no one you won't you love afterwards. Their bond is unbreakable and they all help each other through the good and the bad times. Just to see them dance and move when listening to a new song, performing their dance steps at a prison gig, and unabashedly showing their emotions when tragedy strikes helps show how real they all are. These guys aren't hamming it up for the camera, they truly know how to have fun and aren't afraid to show it.Despite only taking place during the course of a seven week rehearsal schedule, having a group of people averaging 80-years-old is ripe for life to rear its ugly head. All the good times—the reunions, the rejuvenation, the singing, dancing, and laughing—are countered by devastation. While the film's trailer shows an uproarious good time, and by God it is, don't be caught off-guard for the poignant moments of clarity and sadness. Unfortunately tragedy does strike, sometimes at the most inopportune moments, yet all march on for their fallen comrades, creating a touching portrait of humanity. These moments also bring some of the most powerful songs including a stirring rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You" by returning ex-member Fred Knittle with his Johnny Cash-like baritone.In the end, though, Young@Heart is really an uplifting tale of perseverance and life at its most simple and pleasurable. This is an internationally traveling chorus, touring Europe each year to complement their US dates. Never afraid to have fun, we are given some snippets of music video style shoots interspersed throughout the film. "Stayin' Alive" is fantastic and during the performance for "Golden Years" one can't help but laugh to the point of tears for Stan Goldman. Go see this film while you can and don't be surprised to see it winning a best documentary Oscar at next year's show. I heard the rumblings that this was becoming quite the phenomenon and now I can say first hand that it is more than that. Young@Heart is something we can all relate with and a film we should see to attain hope for the future and a template for how to live out our retirements, not sulking at home, but out enjoying all the things we did the years past. Maybe life really begins at age 70.

It's hard not to like a large group, average age 80, singing punk, blues, and rock 'n roll with enthusiasm in the documentary Young@Heart. Be it Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia" or Cold Play's "Fix You," these seniors are fun to watch in large part because such hip songs are out of place in any room of over 30-year olds. In reality, these old timers are not very good, barely reaching notes or staying in tune. As the saying goes, if they weren't old, they'd never be on stage.It's distracting to be thinking of how the subjects of this energetic documentary are elderly who would not be expected to be performing. Yet, a good doc shows you things you probably never experienced before, so it is a success, regardless of my suspicions that the performers are being exploited as if they were exotic animals in a zoo.So I find myself thinking about their survival (two die during the filming, one after it) rather than the music, and the fact that they can memorize their lines rather than create lovely sounds. I become a picky critic who dares to criticize the work of old people and who wouldn't give them a standing ovation if he were at their concert. Now Tony Bennett I might, and there's the difference.