What begins as an amusing bumbling spy/detective movie, in the ilk of The Pink Panther or The Naked Gun, slowly transforms into one of the warmest and most heartfelt documentaries you'll ever experience. The transformation occurs gradually and subtly. About two thirds of the way through, we finally understand the type of movie we have been watching all along. This isn't a spy movie - it's a story about loneliness, growing old, and the importance of human connection.
The story: When a woman suspects her mother is suffering abuse in an elderly home, she hires a private investigator. The private investigator decides to hire an 83-year-old man, Sergio to enter the home posing as a new member. But he's not there for living assistance. He's there to investigate the home's staff and members, reporting his findings to the private investigator. He's there to be the mole agent.
Of course, the 83-year-old spy angle is merely a hook. While Sergio quickly proves to be a comically ineffective spy, he simultaneously reveals himself to be an endlessly charming gentleman who endears himself to other members of the home. His friendships form the heart the movie and will leave audiences rushing out to hug their loved ones.
48 Reviews
Very funny at times, and very moving
paul-allaer8 September 2020
"The Mole Agent" (2020 release from Chile; 84 min.) is a non-fiction documentary about a nursing home in Santiago, Chile. As the movie opens, Sergio is among a group of old men responding to a newspaper ad looking for men between 80 and 90 years old. Sergio finds out that a woman wants to hire someone to spy/infiltrate the nursing home where her mother is staying to make sure her mother is treated properly. Sergio is hired, and loaded with eyeglasses that can record as well as a smart phone, Sergio arrives for a 3 month stay at the nursing home. He gets to know the nursing home residents, including the elderly mom of the woman who engaged him. It's not long before he gets the first surprise... At this point we are 10 min. into the film.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Chilean writer-director Maite Alberdi. Her prior work includes, among others, the excellent "The Grown-Ups". Here she tackles a different topic altogether: how are the elderly (all of them seem to be in their 80s if not older) residents treated by staff of this Catholic nursing home? Obviously I'm not going to spoil the outcome, but let me instead offer that these frank observations are at times very funny (one of the women residents develops a crush on Sergio), and at times very moving (all of these elderly people just want some T.L.C. from their family, nothing less, nothing more). The final report that Sergio makes will make your heart ache (take a guess how many times in the 3 months Sergio was there, the woman who engaged him to "infiltrate" the nursing home, actually visited her own elderly mother...). Bottom line: this is a delightful "little" movie that has so much to show us from the human perspective.
"The Mole Agent" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, fully adhering to all COVID-19 protocols. Not that it mattered as it turns out that the Labor Day early evening screening where I saw this at was in fact a private showing: I was literally the only person in the theater. This has happened to me quite regularly ever since theater have reopened. I honestly don't see how this can be done on a profitable basis... In the meantime, if you are looking for a documentary focusing on a slice of humanity, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Chilean writer-director Maite Alberdi. Her prior work includes, among others, the excellent "The Grown-Ups". Here she tackles a different topic altogether: how are the elderly (all of them seem to be in their 80s if not older) residents treated by staff of this Catholic nursing home? Obviously I'm not going to spoil the outcome, but let me instead offer that these frank observations are at times very funny (one of the women residents develops a crush on Sergio), and at times very moving (all of these elderly people just want some T.L.C. from their family, nothing less, nothing more). The final report that Sergio makes will make your heart ache (take a guess how many times in the 3 months Sergio was there, the woman who engaged him to "infiltrate" the nursing home, actually visited her own elderly mother...). Bottom line: this is a delightful "little" movie that has so much to show us from the human perspective.
"The Mole Agent" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, fully adhering to all COVID-19 protocols. Not that it mattered as it turns out that the Labor Day early evening screening where I saw this at was in fact a private showing: I was literally the only person in the theater. This has happened to me quite regularly ever since theater have reopened. I honestly don't see how this can be done on a profitable basis... In the meantime, if you are looking for a documentary focusing on a slice of humanity, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.
The Twilight Spy
Phil_M_A_Kerr22 November 2020
I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the audience surprised by this one. Expecting a Jacques Tati or Peter Sellers bumbling detective comedy, we were instead served a heartfelt look into nursing home life.
I've not yet had a close relative in a nursing home but the depiction of such a life as presented in this tragicomedy rang true.
I was glad to have had this close look into the small pleasures, the great loneliness, and the irrepressible human spirit in its most twilight years.
A Story About Human Connection
Neon_Gold24 March 2021
I'm still pretty shocked after watching this. At first it seems like such a fun and silly documentary taking tropes from spy movies but then it suddenly pulled the rug out from under you and breaks your heart into a million pieces.
It is a rare and intimate look into a care home that just lays out the lives of these amazing people living in there and allows you to see them in this unique way.
You really get to know these people and you see what they want most in like, human interaction, love, friendship, just someone who will take 5 minutes to talk to them like they are real people. There is a moment that just breaks my heart when a family come to visit Sergio and this lady sees them come in. Her face lights up at seeing these people coming to visit Sergio, she doesn't even know them but she is just so happy to see people.
I would honestly be mortified if I was any of the children of the people in this movie. To see their sadness and their need for human connection.
I also want to say that Sergio seems like an incredible person. His heart is so big and he cares so much for people.
There is a lady who writes poetry after reading an amazing poem she says "life is cruel". I think that message will stay with people after watching this movie.
It is a rare and intimate look into a care home that just lays out the lives of these amazing people living in there and allows you to see them in this unique way.
You really get to know these people and you see what they want most in like, human interaction, love, friendship, just someone who will take 5 minutes to talk to them like they are real people. There is a moment that just breaks my heart when a family come to visit Sergio and this lady sees them come in. Her face lights up at seeing these people coming to visit Sergio, she doesn't even know them but she is just so happy to see people.
I would honestly be mortified if I was any of the children of the people in this movie. To see their sadness and their need for human connection.
I also want to say that Sergio seems like an incredible person. His heart is so big and he cares so much for people.
There is a lady who writes poetry after reading an amazing poem she says "life is cruel". I think that message will stay with people after watching this movie.
When it comes to your experiencing a nursing home, see this kindly doc and feel good.
JohnDeSando14 December 2020
"Life is cruel, after all." Resident Petita
In writer-director Maile Alberdi's sweet Spanish documentary, The Mole Agent, about a nursing home, life is not cruel. While slower minds and bodies come with the territory, the filmmakers catch almost everyone happy enough and involved in their little scenarios, created by their minds or the adults given responsibility for them.
Sergio (Sergio Chamy), a dapper 80-year-old, is hired to infiltrate a home to find out suspected abuse within a three-month period. He is immediately a hit with the ladies: He listens intently ("If you feel like crying, cry"), is always gentlemanly, talks romantically without crossing any of the appropriate lines with peers in the last years of their lives. And he has oodles of compassion.
He finds as he reports back regularly to this employer that a harmony and happiness pervade. In the most egregious malfeasance, a lady steals scarves and hides them. So bad.
I've heard most of those reading my review, and I, will one day need a home for themselves or loved ones. It would behoove us to see this benign inside look at the San Francisco Nursing Home to help us take heart that a true home could await in pleasant surroundings with like-minded seniors.
The Mole Agent, Sergio, is no James Bond but rather the embodiment of a senior most prized by residents as "autonomous." Being on his own and easily navigating the later years is an ideal we all can aspire to. These filmmakers have set the standard and neutralized the common stereotypes and clichés that plague thought about nursing homes.
Most of all, the documentary is good filmmaking that seems authentic and caring. Although some of the shots feel set up, it overall has a breezy attitude that will help others to see the good in a much-reviled profession. On Prime.
In writer-director Maile Alberdi's sweet Spanish documentary, The Mole Agent, about a nursing home, life is not cruel. While slower minds and bodies come with the territory, the filmmakers catch almost everyone happy enough and involved in their little scenarios, created by their minds or the adults given responsibility for them.
Sergio (Sergio Chamy), a dapper 80-year-old, is hired to infiltrate a home to find out suspected abuse within a three-month period. He is immediately a hit with the ladies: He listens intently ("If you feel like crying, cry"), is always gentlemanly, talks romantically without crossing any of the appropriate lines with peers in the last years of their lives. And he has oodles of compassion.
He finds as he reports back regularly to this employer that a harmony and happiness pervade. In the most egregious malfeasance, a lady steals scarves and hides them. So bad.
I've heard most of those reading my review, and I, will one day need a home for themselves or loved ones. It would behoove us to see this benign inside look at the San Francisco Nursing Home to help us take heart that a true home could await in pleasant surroundings with like-minded seniors.
The Mole Agent, Sergio, is no James Bond but rather the embodiment of a senior most prized by residents as "autonomous." Being on his own and easily navigating the later years is an ideal we all can aspire to. These filmmakers have set the standard and neutralized the common stereotypes and clichés that plague thought about nursing homes.
Most of all, the documentary is good filmmaking that seems authentic and caring. Although some of the shots feel set up, it overall has a breezy attitude that will help others to see the good in a much-reviled profession. On Prime.
Funny and Sweet
evanston_dad12 May 2021
A funny and sweet documentary about an elderly man who takes a job as a double agent in a retirement community to report back on the treatment of one of its residents, whose daughter suspects is receiving poor care.
What the man finds instead is a nice community of old people trying to make the best of their loneliness. He makes a lot of friends and begins to enjoy his time there, but nevertheless finds a new appreciation for his own independence and his daughter, who hasn't abandoned him the way so many of the others who he befriends have been abandoned by their own families.
I thought other countries were generally better than America about taking care of its elderly, but this movie indicates that at least in Chile, where it's set, there's just as much of a tendency in children to let the care of their aging parents become somebody else's problem.
Grade: A-
What the man finds instead is a nice community of old people trying to make the best of their loneliness. He makes a lot of friends and begins to enjoy his time there, but nevertheless finds a new appreciation for his own independence and his daughter, who hasn't abandoned him the way so many of the others who he befriends have been abandoned by their own families.
I thought other countries were generally better than America about taking care of its elderly, but this movie indicates that at least in Chile, where it's set, there's just as much of a tendency in children to let the care of their aging parents become somebody else's problem.
Grade: A-
Anyone who rates this less than 10 must be lacking in compassion
everybodygettogether28 January 2021
Noticing this listed on my local PBS channel, I expected an ordinary documentary. Instead I found a deeply moving, multifaceted and fullfledged movie, with unexpected "stars" who are real people, living out their real lives.
It left me with the desire to know more about each of them, and huge gratitude to my family who move everything aside to make sure my father can continue to live comfortably in his own home, with daily visits - and even more gratitude for my daughter who gives up everything to keep me happy in HER home, following unexpected multiple health catastrophes leaving me disabled at 60.
Watch this movie, please, and see where it touches you. If it doesn't, watch it again.
More Fiction than Documentary
li090442623 March 2021
I used to volunteer in a nursing home and this movie depicts clearly the biggest issue in these places: loneliness and lack of interest from family members.
Into the 20 minutes of this movie, I had a feeling that I was not watching a documentary but a Docu-Fiction. If you want someone to investigate if the nursing home is mistreating their patients, why would you want a movie crew to document the mole action? Isn't it obvious that the nursing home staff would not mistreat or steal their patients in front of the camera?????
There are some parts of the documentary that didn't look real, kind of scripted like the ceremony of King/Queen celebration and also Miss Berta's love interest in the mole.
Aside from the debate of documentary or fiction, it's a charming and caring movie.
Life is cruel
elweoncriticolacago21 February 2021
Good movie, shows a terrible reality.
The theme of the movie I think is oblivion.
An approach to oblivion is always difficult as it can only be experienced when it is too late.
Invites us to think about the responsibility of society in the life of the elderly, it is the responsibility of everyone or only of each one's family.
Ungrateful Society or the inevitable pain and forgetfulness of the end of life?
A heartwarming appreciation to life, to parents and grandparents
Sir_AmirSyarif26 March 2021
Maite Alberdi's 'The Mole Agent' follows in the footsteps of Sergio Chamy, an eighty-something man hired by a detective agency to infiltrate a nursing home as a resident and carry out an investigation of how the nursing home treated an elderly woman. What starts off as a funny, easy-going film, transforms into a story about love, family, and loneliness in the final stage of life. The narrative flows well, and the pieces fit together beautifully that it almost feels more like a fiction than a documentary. It's a heartwarming ode of love and appreciation to life, to parents and grandparents.
Beautiful and Bittersweet
ytgutie22 February 2021
Better than its premise
paul2001sw-128 August 2021
This is a curious movie: an old man goes undercover in a care home to investigate allegations of abuse, but at the same time, the makers of this film negotiated with the home to make a documentary movie about them. Was the care home likely to agree to the latter if they were really so terrible? And there's little drama in the agent's undercover reporting, as a TV crew is following him around as he does it. In this sense, the film never escapes the feeling of being set up, and unsurprisingly, we don't uncover any great wrongdoing. What we do see are some sad, sweet, and very human stories about the last phase of life. It's not a bad film per se; but it might have worked better as a straightforward fly-on-the-wall style documentary.
The Mole Agent
jboothmillard19 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It is only because of Awards Season nominations that I found out about this Chilean documentary film, I read more about it and it did sound interesting. Basically, a newspaper article is placed to find an elderly person, aged between 80-90, with some understanding and experience of using technology. One by one, the applicants are interviewed about their use of technology and other factors, as one of them is to be recruited by a private investigator in Chile. The investigator selects octogenarian Sergio Chamy to work as a mole at a retirement home. He is taught how to use spy cameras and a smartphone to report any significant findings to the investigator. His mission is to go undercover in the nursing home to investigate suspicions, from a client, of caretakers abusing the residents. Chamy settles into the home, and the camera crew are allowed in, under the pretence that they are documenting the experiences for Chamy and other residents. Chamy talks and gets to know many of the residents, especially the women, who fall in love with his charm. He reports everything he sees and hears to the private investigator, which for some time is just menial details. He eventually finds the female resident who has been specifically targeted for questioning and uses his hidden camera technology to document anything suspicious. In the end, after his stay at the home, no evidence of mistreatment or abuse is found. But this film serves much more as an insight into the desperate loneliness and seclusion the older generation have succumbed to, with many abandoned by their families. It is sobering and poignant, the spy gadgetry is kind of cool, and Chamy is a likeable character. I was hoping for perhaps something more gripping and some kind of big twist or turn by the conclusion, but it is an interesting enough documentary. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Worth watching!
Dura realidad
oxoempiredermeister23 February 2021
Heartwarming
kimpuck30 January 2021
A docucomedy that plays with documentary form
jordanlayton3 April 2021
The Mole Agent is a 2020 documentary/comedy about an old man hired and sent into a nursing home as a private investigator for a client that wants to know about the wellbeing of her mother. I had so many guesses about where this film was headed and none of them came true. I don't know if I've ever watched a film that's so heartwarmingly sweet and heartbreakingly sad simultaneously throughout the film. I love that this docucomedy played with the documentary form and I really enjoyed it despite the film having a difficult time sticking a landing.
Great
atractiveeyes21 February 2021
This is a very beautiful interesting well made documentary. Although it is funny sometimes, it's all in all sad, so emotional, so touching and has an important message. It was submitted by Chile to this year's Oscars, making the shortlist for best International Feature as well as the shortlist for best Documentary Feature. I hope it'll get nominated for at least one of them because it's just great.
Full of Compassion
maryannsidner27 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The lead, Sergio, was full of compassion as he interacted with the mostly lonely residents of the senior home. This senior home must have been sponsored by the Catholic church as there were many statue and pictures of saints and Jesus. The management of the senior home were very caring and solicitous of the residents' needs. Sergio was like Jesus in the care that he provided for the lovely women he met. The story took place in Santiago, Chile. This is a marvelous study of psychology and kindness.
Cute and sad...
RosanaBotafogo3 April 2021
A different documentary, a fiction, a contract between a detective and a senior citizen, all fake, but it generated a beautiful documentary, moving, sensitive, delicate, dramatic and sad, the solitude of the asylum, the parties, the generosity of those works with these elderly people... Pleasant surprise in the middle of the Oscars, in a sabbatical, inclusive and social year, a pity that their competitors are strong, Coletiv, Crip and Polvo, the four deserve...
The chronicle of a hoax
danybur6 March 2021
How far are documentary makers willing to go to film that and those they investigate? What are the ethical limits?
This documentary follows in the footsteps of Sergio, an eighty-something man hired by a detective agency to infiltrate a nursing home as a resident and investigate how the mother of an agency client hospitalized there is treated.
What is real, fictional or metafictional in this documentary?
Unfortunately, the entire agent mole is mounted on a hoax. More than an infiltrator from a detective agency, the "agent" Sergio is an infiltrator of the director, who changes the focus and begins to be interested in the dialogues and testimonies of the deceived elderly women of the nursing home.
I finished watching this documentary with a feeling of discomfort close to indignation: that of having witnessed a disloyal invasion of the privacy of a group of elderly women to display their pain and serve as instruments of the director and her cinematographic device, of an experiment. And with the perplexity that hardly anyone has raised these ethical questions or downplayed them, especially the critics and festival juries. ................................................................................................................................................... .......
Review
A lady (who does not appear on camera) hires the services of a detective agency to find out how they treat her mother, admitted to a nursing home. This documentary follows in the footsteps of Sergio, an eighty-something man hired by the agency to infiltrate the nursing home as a resident and carry out the investigation.
This documentary by the Chilean Maite Alberdi raises numerous elements for analysis and debate, some frankly uncomfortable.
What is real, fictional or metafictional in this documentary? How far are documentary makers willing to go to film that and those they investigate? What are the ethical limits?
I have read notes about how this documentary was filmed and a report to its director that were far from reassuring me.
The detective agency and its director are real, as well as the casting they carry out to choose Sergio as a mole. The "mission" entrusted to him is also real. The nursing home had previously accepted the presence of cameras for the filming of a documentary.
But unfortunately the entire Mole Agent is mounted on a hoax. More than an infiltrator of the detective agency, Sergio is an infiltrator of the director, who changes the focus and begins to be interested in the dialogues and testimonies that he generates with the elderly women in the nursing home. And like any mole, he deceives about his identity and his goals to all the companions who begin to bond with him, who by the way is a charming person.
To what extent do these women know that what they express (and to an impostor) is being filmed? Frail people, some of them already with signs of cognitive decline.
The detective moments are hilarious and the dialogues with the old ladies range from the picturesque to the moving. But the purpose of this whole montage is not clear to me: 1) Reflect the daily life of a nursing home? 2) Give a voice to people who generally don't have it? 3) A testimony to sensitize the audience about how the elderly in general suffer in these institutions of loneliness, depression and abandonment by their families? Is this really a novelty?
I finished watching this documentary with a feeling of discomfort close to indignation: that of having witnessed a disloyal invasion of the privacy of a group of elderly women to display their pain and serve, in short, as instruments for showing off the director and his cinematic device, from an experiment. And with the perplexity that almost no one has raised these ethical questions or minimizes them, starting with the critics and the festival juries.
And my feeling remains the same.
This documentary follows in the footsteps of Sergio, an eighty-something man hired by a detective agency to infiltrate a nursing home as a resident and investigate how the mother of an agency client hospitalized there is treated.
What is real, fictional or metafictional in this documentary?
Unfortunately, the entire agent mole is mounted on a hoax. More than an infiltrator from a detective agency, the "agent" Sergio is an infiltrator of the director, who changes the focus and begins to be interested in the dialogues and testimonies of the deceived elderly women of the nursing home.
I finished watching this documentary with a feeling of discomfort close to indignation: that of having witnessed a disloyal invasion of the privacy of a group of elderly women to display their pain and serve as instruments of the director and her cinematographic device, of an experiment. And with the perplexity that hardly anyone has raised these ethical questions or downplayed them, especially the critics and festival juries. ................................................................................................................................................... .......
Review
A lady (who does not appear on camera) hires the services of a detective agency to find out how they treat her mother, admitted to a nursing home. This documentary follows in the footsteps of Sergio, an eighty-something man hired by the agency to infiltrate the nursing home as a resident and carry out the investigation.
This documentary by the Chilean Maite Alberdi raises numerous elements for analysis and debate, some frankly uncomfortable.
What is real, fictional or metafictional in this documentary? How far are documentary makers willing to go to film that and those they investigate? What are the ethical limits?
I have read notes about how this documentary was filmed and a report to its director that were far from reassuring me.
The detective agency and its director are real, as well as the casting they carry out to choose Sergio as a mole. The "mission" entrusted to him is also real. The nursing home had previously accepted the presence of cameras for the filming of a documentary.
But unfortunately the entire Mole Agent is mounted on a hoax. More than an infiltrator of the detective agency, Sergio is an infiltrator of the director, who changes the focus and begins to be interested in the dialogues and testimonies that he generates with the elderly women in the nursing home. And like any mole, he deceives about his identity and his goals to all the companions who begin to bond with him, who by the way is a charming person.
To what extent do these women know that what they express (and to an impostor) is being filmed? Frail people, some of them already with signs of cognitive decline.
The detective moments are hilarious and the dialogues with the old ladies range from the picturesque to the moving. But the purpose of this whole montage is not clear to me: 1) Reflect the daily life of a nursing home? 2) Give a voice to people who generally don't have it? 3) A testimony to sensitize the audience about how the elderly in general suffer in these institutions of loneliness, depression and abandonment by their families? Is this really a novelty?
I finished watching this documentary with a feeling of discomfort close to indignation: that of having witnessed a disloyal invasion of the privacy of a group of elderly women to display their pain and serve, in short, as instruments for showing off the director and his cinematic device, from an experiment. And with the perplexity that almost no one has raised these ethical questions or minimizes them, starting with the critics and the festival juries.
And my feeling remains the same.
say hello to my little spy
lee_eisenberg24 March 2021
"El agente topo" ("The Mole Agent" in English) is a most unusual documentary. It focuses on a man hired as a spy in a Chilean nursing home to investigate elder abuse. There are some surprises in store.
Maite Alberdi's documentary has no doubt gotten more attention now that it's received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. I recommend it, and I hope that it draws more attention to the issues addressed.
Maite Alberdi's documentary has no doubt gotten more attention now that it's received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. I recommend it, and I hope that it draws more attention to the issues addressed.
Funny and heartbreaking sometimes at the same time; a gem.
MOscarbradley23 March 2021
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Oscars, Maite Alberdi's "The Mole Agent" may have a preposterous scenario for a documentary, (it would be preposterous even in a fiction film), and yet it works and works beautifully. The filmmaker's explain everything that's to follow in the first ten or so minutes and after that it's basically plain sailing. "The Mole Agent" of the title is Sergio, a man in his eighties planted as a 'spy' inside a nursing home in Chile to record anything that might be happening to an elderly female inmate whose daughter fears is being abused. The crew making the film we are watching have been given permission to film inside the nursing home but only they know Sergio's purpose in being there.
The result is both deeply moving and often very funny as Sergio goes about his business like an octagerian James Bond, taking notes, writing in his journal and filming people with his 'spy' pen and 'spy' glasses and despite making himself fairly obvious on occasions is the least likely and most charming agent imaginable. Alberdi's terrific film is like a non-fiction version of "Carry on Spying" with a cast of geriatrics.
It's also undeniably sad since we know that none of these people are acting and that their lives are far from perfect; there is genuine lonliness and real heartbreak here though if anyone can alleviate it it's Sergio who seems to move from secret agent to guardian angel in no time at all and as he sweet-talks the little old ladies, prompting at least one of them to contemplate marriage, it's impossible not to be charmed by him. This is his movie and I, for one, would certainly like to know what happened to him since filming was completed.
The result is both deeply moving and often very funny as Sergio goes about his business like an octagerian James Bond, taking notes, writing in his journal and filming people with his 'spy' pen and 'spy' glasses and despite making himself fairly obvious on occasions is the least likely and most charming agent imaginable. Alberdi's terrific film is like a non-fiction version of "Carry on Spying" with a cast of geriatrics.
It's also undeniably sad since we know that none of these people are acting and that their lives are far from perfect; there is genuine lonliness and real heartbreak here though if anyone can alleviate it it's Sergio who seems to move from secret agent to guardian angel in no time at all and as he sweet-talks the little old ladies, prompting at least one of them to contemplate marriage, it's impossible not to be charmed by him. This is his movie and I, for one, would certainly like to know what happened to him since filming was completed.
A must watch it in any time
samantavillegasm21 February 2021
This documentary is wonderful showing the solitude, confusion, and deterioration physically and mentally on the elders. It's a reality that trespass borders all-around the world. Manages to capture the essence of the aging process. Makes me tears down every time.
A MUST for everyone!
cowboywayfest21 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Rated it 9 because rarely is anything perfect. But this movie is amazing. It doesn't move quickly, it hasn't action or intrigued or any of the things we usually expect from a film.
But what it does have is humanity, compassion, love, and hope in bucket loads. Think Chocolat or Under the Tuscan Skies... this is a very human piece. And a critical message. If you have parents and haven't seen them recently I pray this reforms you!
But what it does have is humanity, compassion, love, and hope in bucket loads. Think Chocolat or Under the Tuscan Skies... this is a very human piece. And a critical message. If you have parents and haven't seen them recently I pray this reforms you!
Straight to the heart
rosariopatinoe28 February 2021
I admit that I started watching the movie with zero expectations, but after 10 minutes you can't avoid getting involved with Sergio, Marta and Berta and forgetting that you are looking at an audiovisual piece.
The movie's great achievment is to treat the issue of old age with respect, without exaggerations or excess of drama, but with total reality. This reality is what shocks the viewer, because aging is a taboo subject, we all know it is inevitable, but nobody wants to talk about it. Why? perhaps because the greatest fear is not of getting old, but of loneliness.
In summary, the film makes you go through the entire spectrum of emotions while reminding you that society must urgently change the way and prejudices with which older adults are treated
See also
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