Some Kind of Heaven

I like to see situations where people who have contributed to society have a measure of comfort as they get older and that should apply across every form of employment. The old con-man living in the van deserves to end his days in his rusty old van - it would be interesting to read the path of destruction he left as he free-loaded through life!

This documentary is very interesting. It has the best cinematography I've ever seen in a documentary and it covers quite a serious subject with respect.

This documentary follows four residents of The Villages, a massive retirement home in Florida - Anne and Reggie, a married couple; Barbara, a widow; and Dennis, a man who doesn't actually live at The Villages. Anne struggles with her marriage, due to Reggie's drug addiction and worsening mental health. Barbara's husband died four months before filming and she is nervous about dating again. Dennis lives in his van, and hangs around The Villages in hopes of finding a wealthy woman in his last few years.

Before this film, I had never heard of The Villages. I found the story of its residents fascinating. The Villages is often referred to as "The Disneyworld for Retirees," and when you hear that, you imagine a perfect place to spend the later part of your life. The problem with utopias is that they're basically impossible. And the goal of the film is to showcase that The Villages is not a perfect utopia. It follows the struggles of these four people and how they can't just escape their pain with tennis or acting classes. One thing I like about this film is that it doesn't come off as malicious. It's not trying to expose The Villages for being a place of fake happiness or mock the residents or anything like that. Instead I got the impression that the director wanted to tell a story about real people trying to cope with their problems and I can respect that.

The cinematography is one of the stand-out aspects of this film. Every shot looks staged, as if they were from a typical fiction movie. There's a surprising amount of close-ups for a documentary. It was to the point that I didn't actually believe I was watching a documentary at first. I'm very impressed with the cinematography - shout-out to David Bolen, the cinematographer.

There is a lot to learn from this film. Life is full of pain and struggles; and, as sad as it may sound, that's inescapable. It's impossible to always be happy, even in the utopic Disney World for Retirees.

I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18. It comes out January 15, 2021. Reviewed by Calista B., KIDS FIRST!

Marriage is hard. For many people, being alone is hard. Hell, being human is hard, I don't care who you are. I was very pleased there was no talk of the politics of The Villages, but you will get the gist of the place. And if you're in the right mood to see real people caught up in the human condition , I think you'll enjoy. It stayed with me for a while.

As I anticipate my coming milestone birthday, the big seven-oh, I for some weird reason decided to watch Some Kind of Heaven. I guess I am curious about how different people handle the challenge of ageing gracefully. Well, now I kind of wish I hadn't watched it as it left me feeling pretty depressed.

But I think it's because of the way the film was done, i.e., the characters the writer and/or director chose to focus on. Two of the women just seemed so sad it was awful. A couple of the men, too, were struggling. I'm thinking now that the film's producers should have included a character or two who were actually happy, just for balance.

Interestingly, though, the people who seemed the most troubled - Reggie and Anne, and Dennis, had histories that preceded and led up to their current troubled states shown in the film. I guess one of the conclusions one can draw from the film is that you carry your problems with you, i.e., a change of venue doesn't solve the deeper issues.

Bottom line: it was very well done but I would have liked more information about each character as well as about the place itself. Also, I wish there had been at least one resident who was content.

The stuff in this documentary feels faker than most non-documentaries, and I appreciate it being filmed like a scripted feature to further this feeling. It's not that you think the whole thing is staged, but rather that's how absurd the subject matter is. The movie is a horrifying and hilarious dreamscape. One that is way too possible to not be a nightmare. How is this real? How did these people get like this? And, most importantly, how do I avoid it like the plague? This documentary is funnier than the sitcom version of the same story would be, precisely because you know it isn't a sitcom. Life can and has become just a checklist for a lot of people. Though the subjects have their redemptive moments of vulnerability, I mostly walked away with viewing their stories as a cautionary tale. Life is short, but not at the villages.