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OLD AGE IN FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS

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The two films reviewed below, Ladies in Lavender and Autumn Spring, both focus on the transformations of characters in old age. In the former, two old sisters live a quiet life in a cottage on the coast of Cornwall in 1936. One of them lost her fiancé in WWI. The other has never experienced a great love in her life. Suddenly their serene life is turned topsy-turvy when they rescue a young Polish man who is washed up on shore below their cottage. Bradley Fisher, the reviewer for this film, analyzes the awakening of love in old age both as a folly for one of the minor characters in the film and as a profound event for one of the two sisters. He proposes that when one of the sisters finally is able to gain a perspective on her feelings of love and loss, she reaches a state of elderhood—representing an attainment of identity based upon self-awareness and self-knowledge. She reaches a state whereby she can redirect her passion for the young man. Now she realizes and accepts her status as his mentor and his advocate. At the same time, Fisher proposes that the relationship between the two sisters has been strengthened by virtue of their shared bonds regarding the experiences of love and loss. This film explores some of the tragic elements of old age and examines the desire to seek love and renewal even late in life.

The second film, Autumn Spring, appeared on Czech television in 2001. The reviewer, Howard Schwartz, analyzes the relationship between an old couple as an example of the contrasting philosophies of activity and disengagement. Whereas the husband delights in playful creativity and harmless con games—in order to maintain his zest for the possibilities of engagement—his wife has embraced the philosophy that life has ended for both of them. She prefers to make arrangements for the end of life and spends most of her time organizing her funeral and their burial arrangements. Their competing philosophies collide repeatedly, and the results are often hilarious. This film focuses on the comic elements of old age and portrays the old characters affectionately and respectfully. Thus, the struggle between activity and disengagement must be resolved—one way or the other—and done so with comic effect.

At the core of both films is the presence of veteran actors and actresses who bring a lifetime of acting experience to bear on their roles and transform their characters from caricatures of old age to convincing characters rich with idiosyncrasies and passions. In Ladies and Lavender Judi Dench and Maggie Smith create indelible portraits of two elderly sisters—one who is stiff and stern and in charge of the household and the other who is restless and intuitive and still trying to come to grips with her aging. Watching these two actresses at work—establishing their characters and playing off their strengths against each other—is one of the simple joys of watching this film. Likewise, the three veteran actors in Autumn Spring create rich characters that reveal both their shortcomings and their strengths. They inhabit their roles, and they express the fullness and variety of their characters with deft touches, including gestures, the way they express dialogue, and their skills at interacting within key scenes. Each of these five actors in the two films brings 40 to 50 years of experience from the theater and the cinema to their roles.

In the past several years three other audiovisual columns have included reviews of feature-length fictional films: Aging, Intergeneration, and Community (39, 4, 1999), including reviews of Waking Ned Divine and Tea with Mussolini; Aging and Loss: Feature-length films (43, 3, 2003), including reviews of About Schmidt, Last Orders, and Iris (United Kingdom); and Reel Images: Feature-length films (43, 4, 2003), including reviews of several international films—After Life, Central Station, The King of Masks, The Shower, Yi Yi, and Être et Avoir (To Be and To Have)—and one American film, The Straight Story.

Footnotes

Robert E. Yahnke, PhD, Audiovisual Editor

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