Review of Young@Heart

Young@Heart (2007)
10/10
Things do get better with age
24 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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