Review Young@Heart: Documentary films and music for all ages

Documentary films are a strange thing: although they make up a significant portion of film production and there are numerous examples of enormously important documentary films in film history (keywords: “Drifters” by John Grierson or “À propos de Nizze” by Jean Vigo), they are not exactly famous for blockbusters and often live in the shadow of their fictional brothers. However, this genre, which works according to its own rules, is often worth a closer look. I would now like to review a successful example of this underrated genre, which is currently showing in German cinemas: “Young@Heart” by Stephen Walker.

How this review came about

A few days ago, I received a request from dot-friends.com to watch the movies “Wolke 9” and “Young@Heart” in the cinema for free in order to write a review about them and then publish it on my blog. dot-friends works on behalf of Senator Entertainment. I agreed to this request because I am interested in both films and the action is independent of my evaluation of the films.

Young@Heart: Love of music knows no age limits

Walker’s film is set in the small American town of Northampton, where choirmaster Bob Cilman has put together a choir of senior citizens aged between 75 and 93. The choir members, all of whom tend to prefer traditional classical music and musicals, are presented with an unusual challenge by Cilman: he chooses pieces that rock. He chooses songs like Coldplay’s “Fix You” alongside “Schizophrenia” by the New York avant-garde punks Sonic Youth or “Road to Nowhere” by the Talking Heads. His work is complicated by the fact that the singers cannot remember the lyrics to James Brown’s “I Feel Good” or are affected by physical ailments.

Director Stephen Walker accompanied the choir for six weeks while they prepared for a concert in their hometown in front of an audience of around 1000 people. He not only succeeded in creating an entertaining portrait of an extraordinary group, but also a film that oscillates between almost satirical humor and deep tragedy.

A film between comedy and tragedy

What is funny is not only the caustic comments of the choir members, but especially the music videos shot especially for the film, which are repeatedly interwoven. In the best MTV aesthetic, with rapid cuts and trendy colors, the choir members rock out in wheelchairs to the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” or as cowboys stranded in the American wilderness in “Road to Nowhere”. But then, there is also the other side of old age: just one week before the big performance, the choir has to cope with the loss of two members who have died unexpectedly. Walker accompanies the choir through their grief, but also encourages them: because the choir does not think about quitting for a second. They dedicate their songs to their deceased comrades instead of brooding in paralysis of grief. Fred Knittles touching version of “Fix You” at the concert, actually planned as a duet, remains unforgettable. Knittles’ deep delivery and the knowledge of the loss give the piece a completely different dimension than the breaking, thin and whiny voice of Chris Martin in the original.

Conclusion

Walker’s film is a moving document of an unusual topic. The choir “Young@Heart” not only defies unreflected youth clichés, but also provides an incredible amount of courage that one’s own goals do not depend on external factors. It brings the elderly closer to the viewer, as if they were their own grandparents, and confronts them with grief without abandoning them. Aesthetically, it alternates between emotional concert footage and seemingly apathetic hospital corridors, between slowly edited close-ups of faces and rapid-fire video-clip editing. It is a film that brings viewers close to the people behind an exemplary project and that can be warmly recommended to everyone.