Among the films at HollyShorts Film Festival are some that deal with what they call “Golden Age”—about the later years of life. Since I qualify for inclusion in that demographic, it seems like I should watch some of these films.
Jellyfish and Lobster (20 minutes, UK, directed by Yasmin Afifi) takes place in a nursing home. Grace has recently arrived there and is not happy about it—or about the cancer that cost her a breast. When sneaking a smoke in a supply closet, she meets another resident, Mido, who is smoking his own stuff. The two connect in their rebellion. They discover a pool downstairs that is a sort of fountain of youth—when they are under water they are their young selves. Grace doesn’t want to die old. Can she find a way out in the water?
My Week with Maisy (18 minutes, UK, directed by Mika Simmons) is a story of an elder learning from a youth. Mrs. Foster is undergoing chemo. The best way to describe her is she seems to have a stick up her butt. She has built many walls around herself—including one that has shut out her gay son. She shares the infusion room with Maisy, a child who has been in treatment for some time. At first, Mrs. Foster thinks Maisy is annoying and asking too many questions. But in time she will soften and find in Maisy a lesson on what it means to live with death.
It Rains When It Will (16 minutes, US/China, directed by Zhixin Vanessa Cheng) is about finding a bit of joy. Widow Fang Lin goes to a local park where seniors gather to dance. It is something of a seniors’ version of speed dating. There for the first time is Hongwen Chen, a widower, who hangs out on the sideline because he doesn’t know how to dance. Fang and Hongwen chat. Neither are there looking for much, but maybe there is hope for a relationship.
4th Dementia (16 minutes, US, directed by Ian Wexler) is a bit surreal. Nellie, who has Alzheimer’s, is celebrating her birthday with family. She wants to find her husband, but instead she keeps shifting into other worlds with other families that she doesn’t think are hers. This dimension-hoping is as confusing for viewers as it is for Nellie. If she can find her husband, at least she will feel at home.
As someone who fits this age group, I have come to see that many (certainly not all, but many) films about aging are more about the fears and anxieties of younger people who know that they will be there someday. Of these films, It Rains When It Will is the only one that to me gives an accurate portrayal of life in the “Golden Age”.
