Familiar Touch

I had the pleasure of seeing this at the Venice Film Festival, where I could feel the audience's captivation with the film. I found the central concept of a "coming of (old) age" film to be compelling, new, and beautifully handled. Friedland's directing is subtle, precise. Kathleen Chalfant's performance is completely astonishing, and the pairing of director and actor felt really, really right: a scene where Chalfant simply walks down the hallway transforms (with a few key choices of lighting, editing) into something completely magical. The care and love with which the film handles even minor characters was moving. Friedland conveys so much, so deeply through quiet, deceptively simple moments. A new director to watch!

Writer-director Sarah Friedland has accomplished an extraordinary character portrait of an older woman entering a new chapter in her life, experiencing "a coming of age" we haven't seen before on the big screen. Memory loss and dementia is often described and presented as tragedy but what "Familiar Touch" shows us is that appreciation for beauty, sensual joy, creative discovery, and abundant humor persist. Lead actress Kathleen Chalfant is luminous in the role, capable of conveying the quicksilver changes of her character's circumstances with enormous grace and subtlety. I look forward to seeing the film again; this is a story that asks (and deserves) our careful attention and open hearts.

A short and beautiful film about aging, care, and what endures as memory fades. Kathleen Chalfant's careful and precise starring performance guides us through the nuances of what memory loss and senility does and does not destroy.

Ruth is a retired cook and widow who, as the film begins, is still nearly able to live independently. When her son (a delightful and grounded H Jon Benjamin) moves her into an elder care facility, we watch Ruth accept her illness, form relationships, and come to terms with the life she has lived. As each scene revealed a new facet of Ruth's personality, I became only more interested in learning about her life, and tried to accept how little I could ever really know.

A wonderful way to spend 90 minutes thinking about what it's like to be a human being.

Age-related memory loss can be a harrowing, debilitating experience not only for the individuals suffering from it, but also for their families, friends and associates. And, in this superb new release, such is the fate faced by 88-year-old Ruth Goldman (expertly portrayed by Kathleen Chalfant), a remarkably spry, intelligent, creative and physically active woman who appears to be on top of things except when it comes to her fading memory. She has moments when she seems perfectly lucid, as well as a reasonably good grasp of her long-term recall, but her short-term recollection has been failing fast, reaching the point where she doesn't even recognize her son Steve (H. Jon Benjamin) as her own child. These faltering conditions have thus necessitated a change: Since she's increasingly incapable of taking proper care of herself at home, Ruth is being relocated to a long-term care facility for the memory-impaired. It's a transition that takes her by surprise despite the fact that she and Steve had toured the home previously and decided that this is where she should go when she's no longer fit to attend to her own needs. Writer-director Sarah Friedland's second feature outing thus proceeds to follow Ruth's experiences in her new residence, including her diverse interactions with her primary caregiver, Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle), her resident physician, Brian (Andy McQueen), the jovial and accommodating dining room chef (Mike G.), and other facility residents, such as the perky and vivacious Pearl (Joahn Webb). This deftly crafted character study examines the various states of mind that the memory-impaired can go through, as well as the array of reactions that they experience in coming to terms with their circumstances. In telling Ruth's story, the filmmaker expertly shows, rather than tells, viewers what the protagonist is undergoing, driving home the impact of what this heartbreaking condition can yield. At the same time, though, the picture also celebrates all of the little victories that can occur in the course of caring for a patient like Ruth. In addition, the film pays a fitting tribute to the exceptional caregivers who work tirelessly with the afflicted, especially when it comes to the patience and sensitivity that they're expected to exhibit in their daily care routines. This offering also shows the tremendous levels of compassion and understanding associated with this kind of work, particularly when it comes to frankly but tactfully explaining how caregivers and their patients are each experiencing fundamentally different truths when it comes to the nature of their respective realities, a calling that requires being honest and forthright while simultaneously exhibiting a degree of mutual respect, tolerance and acceptance that many of us may find challenging to willingly extend. While this release admittedly begins to slow somewhat as it progresses, it generally holds audience interest well without becoming schmaltzy, manipulative or predictable, quite a feat in a story like this, which could easily fall prey to these traits if left in lesser-skilled hands. For its efforts, "Familiar Touch" has been generously rewarded with numerous award nominations and wins at various film festivals, as well as the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards' Someone To Watch Award for the director. As the population continues to grow old and more of us (especially children of the aged) are left to address scenarios like this, this production presents an excellent look at what those affected might be up against, making for an engaging and informative watch, one that could provide insights that make a difference when the time comes to make the hard decisions of how to care for those who are no longer able to care for themselves.

I had the great pleasure of seeing "Familiar Touch" at the Venice Biennale and I was blown away by Friedland's self-assured directing and beautiful cinematography. Each frame is carefully wrought with the most exquisite light. There's no rush in the unraveling of the story; it's patient, quiet, and true-to-life. Chalfant's performance is masterful. I could not take my eyes off her. She is at the top her craft, never missing a beat, never giving us a false note. The manner she inhabits the character is remarkable: with total honesty and commitment. I offer my deepest congratulations to the filmmaker, actors, and crew.