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Author Archives: rinaross
AWAY FROM HER (2008) and Still Alice (2014)
Of all couple separations the separation due to dementia can be the most painful. Major illnesses in a partner, a child are also difficult to live through. It is the erasing of the partner and his/her annihilation that is unbearably … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, alzeihmer, alzheimer, care, care homes, Film Analysis, film noir, grief, horror films, old couple separation, three generations of women
Tagged care home, dementia
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FILMS AND DEMENTIAS
I was about to write about Away From Her when I caught a surprising article in the Guardian online. FACING THE FEAR : CINEMA FINALLY CONFR0NTS THE REALITY OF DEMENTIA by Nicole Davis I have been diagnosed as suffering from … Continue reading
COUPLE RELATIONSHIP IN AMOUR
There are two big films about old couples in my list of blogs : Amour and Iris. I did not think that Iris was entirely fiction and I did not include it in my studies. However I mentioned it because … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, audience responses, care, death, love, old couple separation
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INNOCENCE (2000)
Why did I pair Cloud9 and Innocence? After 20 years of examining films about older women I wonder. The two films have little in common except sexual desire and sexual scenes. The first has been lauded the other neglected. The … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing
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CLOUD 9 (2008)
Old couple separation: Two films come to mind when I consider an older woman who leaves her husband for another man. Innocence (2000) and Cloud9 (2009). Innocence was not distributed in UK but I still remember the fuss made by … Continue reading
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Death of Wife: Tokyo Story.
“Critics have frequently observed that Ozu Yasujiro’s Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story, 1953) was inspired by Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow (1937). David Bordwell sees Ozu as “recasting” the American film – borrowing from it, adapting it – and briefly … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, classic, classic film, critics, death, family, Film Analysis, FILM RECEPTION, grief, intergenerational relationships, old couple separation
Tagged Ozu
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COUPLE SEPARATION
June. Already ten weeks in lockdown and the stress of the pandemic is starting to bite. Forced to change my activities and interests. My social life, film blog and film research neglected are replaced by housekeeping chores and occasional Zoom … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, old couple separation
Tagged care homes, family conflcts, memories, old couple separation, reminiscences
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EPILOGUE (HAYUTA VE BERL) 2012
March 1st. 2020 I was looking for a film to present to our Secular Jewish group and I suddenly thought of EPILOGUE dir: Amir Manor shown at the BFI festival in 2012 that had impressed me. Amour and Quartet also … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, Ageism, critics, FILM RECEPTION, israel, marital disagreement
Tagged father son, israel, marital conflict, marital relationship, old couple, old people poverty, racism, suicide
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QUARTET (2012)
It was a pleasure to meet again with EON members (Ealing Over 60 Network) to watch a film together. I chose Quartet (2012) for this session. There were 21 people. As usual male presence was of 3 only. Personally I … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, alzheimer, audience responses, care homes, critics, FILM RECEPTION, love
Tagged Alzheimer's, Billi Connoly, friendship, Michael Gambon, music, musicians, Pauline Collins, stage fright, Tom Courtenay
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Shoplifters (2018) – Palme d’Or Cannes – Director Kore-eda
I did not grasp all the richness of this film on my first viewing in the cinema. As a rule I make a point of not reading the reviews or synopsis before seeing a film. What struck me in the … Continue reading
AFTER THE STORM (2016)
AFTER THE STORM ( 2016) Warm and equal relationships between old woman and adult daughter are very rare in the films I have written about. Kore Eda in Still Walking (2008) portrays mother and daughter conversing and cooking together but the … Continue reading
THE FAREWELL ( 2019)
The Farewell Of all the films featuring an old woman that I have seen and written about none has coincided with my experiences as much as this film. I saw it in my local cinema on a Saturday at 18h … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, death, family, outsiders, three generations of women
Tagged exile, family, wedding, wedding banquet
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POETRY (2010) -2-
Recently, a friend recommended Lucy Bolton’s chapter The Intertextual Stardom of Iris: Winslet, Dench, Murdoch, and Alzheimer’s Disease,Feminisms: Diversity, Difference and Multiplicity in Contemporary Film Cultures (2015). This took me years back before I started my blog. Coming back to … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, alzheimer, care, critics, death, family
Tagged 66 year old woman, Azheimer, carer/cleaner, corruption, gangrape, poetry, policeman, rape, suicide, teenagers
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POETRY (2010)
POETRY (2010) How did I miss this great film featuring a 66 years old grandmother? Directed by Lee Chang-dong, it won the 2010 Cannes Best Screenplay Award and many more. I discovered it recently while searching for films that have … Continue reading
My Afternoons with Margueritte (2010) take 2
Brent U3A film group session. We were 5 women and 2 men. None of the group attending had seen the film when I showed it in 2011. In my post then I concentrated on the representation of the old … Continue reading
STILL WALKING (2008)
This is an aide-memoir about Kore-eda wonderful film. I have to wait until a DVD is made available so I can relish again with more focus on the old married couple and their mixed feelings about their children and family … Continue reading
HANNAH (2018)
I missed seeing Hannah (2018) on the big screen. This film co-funded by Euroimages of the Council of Europe did not get a wide distribution in London but a friend alerted me. She recommended the most depressing film about an … Continue reading
THE MOTHER (2003) revisited
Thoughts of P. Case member of the Ealing Over 60 Network. Pam could not stay for the discussion. She was not present when I had mentioned that some academics proposed that the film provoke our prior conceptions and values that … Continue reading
ETERNITY AND A DAY (1998)
There is a huge difference between my reactions to Eternity and a Day in my early 60s and now at 84. In 1998 Central Station was also released . At the time I focused my attentionon the representation of old … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, audience responses, classic, classic film, death, family, Film Analysis, FILM RECEPTION, grief, love, outsiders
Tagged Angelopoulos, bus, childhood, couple, death, dementia, exile, family home, flashbacks, introspections, last days, love, memories, mother, poems, poet, refugee children, refugees, sea and drowning, selling of children, the sea, time frame in films
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“Time Goes By” quote: Ronni Bennett on films
In the media hubbub surrounding the recent Academy Awards, I saw a headline announcing that movie producers are now embracing older actors and stories about old people. No, they are not – not unless their name is Judi Dench or … Continue reading
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SWEET BEANS (2015)
I have been unable to attend the Brent U3A Film Group for a while but did manage it this month and saw Sweet Bean (2015). I had missed it at London Film Festival three years ago and looked forward to … Continue reading
Ali Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Fear eats the soul at EON (1974) Attendance at the film session was 25 this month. Unfortunately my voice recorder failed me and I am unable to report objectively on the very astute, lively, animated contributions. All the aspects of … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, Ageism, audience responses, classic, Film Analysis
Tagged fassbinder, foreign worker, looks, love, objectivisation, prejudice
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Finding Your Feet (2018)
Two films about old people attracted my attention this week: Finding Your Feet (2018) and Eternity And A Day (1998). I had seen the latter 19-20 years ago but I only remembered the two characters : an old man and a … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, family, FILM RECEPTION, love, sisters, women's friendships
Tagged (Imelda Staunton, actors, affair, Ageing, ageing sisters, Ageism, british comedies, Celia Imrie, David Hayman, death, family, film reception, Joanna Lumley, lifestyle, marriage break up, old people dancing, reviews, Timothy Spall
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Eat, Drink, Man, Woman – Chu
Eat Drink Man Woman (referred to as EDMW) is described by the majority of reviewers as a film about a clash between Father and Daughters, between Tradition and Modernity. Few have commented on Chu as an old man. EDMW is … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ageism, Ang Lee, care, family, Film Analysis, food, grief, intergenerational relationships, love, murder, women's friendships
Tagged And Lee
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CARAMEL (2007)
Caramel 2018 One of the EON friend (a woman with a Lebanese background) suggested we viewed Labaki’s Caramel as ‘feel good’ film for the end of year. Given my background (see post 2012 ) I was very surprised by … Continue reading
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EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994) film genres…
My Father was the centre of the family, and everybody tried to please him. My Mother loves me and everything goes well. I have no conflict whith her, so that’s not dramatic. Ang Lee Why was I not offended by … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Ang Lee, classic film, fable, food, grief, love, melodrama, three generations of women, women's friendships
Tagged Ageing, Ageism, daughter, death, family, father/daughter relationships, film reception, FOOD CHINESE, grandmother, grief, grotesque old woman in film, humour, intergeneration, old woman, representation old woman, students and teacher
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EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994) at EON
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) at EON I mentioned in this blog that I would not concentrate any more on the representation of old women in films but widen my interest and abandon the time-consuming film analysis approach. After … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, audience responses, death, family, FILM RECEPTION, food, intergenerational relationships, melodrama
Tagged Ageing, Ang Lee, carer, cooking, eating rituals, family, father daughters relationships, film reception, food, grandmother, grotesque old woman in film, humour, intergeneration, lifestyle, master chef, memories, widower
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THE WIFE (2017)
I saw The Wife on the big screen with my partner and a friend (male) the three of us over 80 years old. It was remarkable that the three of us had to say something immediately at the end, even … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, ageing couple, audience responses, critics, family, Film Analysis, FILM RECEPTION, melodrama
Tagged comedy, death, family, film interpretation, Glenn Close, housewife, humour, husband/wife relationship, kermode, melodrama, music, nobel prize, Peter Bradshaw, reviews, strong woman, Stuart Hall, writers
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THE CLOCK (Christian Marclay) Tate Modern.
I have always argued that using film clips to support an argument is not acceptable to me as I think that a clip outside the context of the whole film may have different, even contradictory meanings. What can 24 hours … Continue reading
Posted in audience responses, film clips, FILM RECEPTION
Tagged 24 hours films, Christian Marclay, clips, fiction, the clock, the TAte, time
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STILL WALKING (2008)
Still Walking (2008) As with some family reunions, my second viewing of Still Walking was quite painful. I saw it at home with a cousin with whom I had shared family reunions in my youth. Her general comment was: there … Continue reading →