August 07, 2020 compiled by Judith Allen Shone for caregiver reference.
Alzheimer’s
We learn from stories. Novelist, Tim O’Brien is quoted as saying, “Storytelling is the essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential storytelling is.”
Vanessa Boris, on Harvard Business.org in What Makes Storytelling So Effective For Learning? offers that “storytelling forges connections among people, and between people and ideas. Stories convey the culture, history, and values that unite people.”
Whether through books, blogs, podcasts, online publications, Audio or CDs, radio, TV or movies, or in personal telling, stories have taught us as a society through the years.
The stories in these movies offer a glimpse at the world of Alzheimer’s.
Look for these 16 movies, videos and list below.
Still Alice
Alice’s Speech – a trailer
Through her “The Art of Losing” speech . . . from the perspective of the one with Alzheimer’s disease, Alice tells her story.
A note: I found it really difficult to stay in the room sometimes, so I had to watch more than one time!
From the novel of the same name, the movie Still Alice tells the story of woman, a mother, a wife and a Harvard professor who slowly recognizes she is losing her memories. Challenged by early onset Alzheimer’s, she learns new ways to live and love, and in her speech tells us details of how it feels to be the one with the disease, not the caregiver, not the family, but the one who is having the experiences.
Matthew Lalanne YouTube Watch this 2:57 minute clip, then the movie.
Written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
(Juilanne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart)
The film was named among the year’s top ten independent films by the National Board of Review.
Alive Inside
the full documentary
“ALIVE INSIDE” is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capability to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the country whose minds have been revitalized and awakened by the simple act of listening to the music of their youth.
Away From Her
Away From Her HD Quality Movie Trailer
Wikipedia: “The story centers on a couple whose marriage is tested when the wife begins to develop Alzheimer’s and moves into a nursing home, where she loses virtually all memory of her husband and begins to develop a close relationship with another nursing home resident.”
HdDvdMovies YouTube 2:28 minute clip
2006 Canadian independent drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley. http://myconnection.org/movies Download Full Dvd Movie
(Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. Olympia Dukakis)
MORE MOVIES SHOWING ALZHEIMER’S or DEMENTIA
Recent efforts, from the warm humor of
“The Leisure Seeker” to the dark mission of “Elizabeth Is Missing,” are reflecting the complexity of memory loss in an aging population.
You might like to watch:
“The Leisure Seeker” – 2017 – Film legends Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren, playing the roles of John and Ella Spencer, are off on a road trip from Massachusetts to Florida in their RV. They’ve been together more than 50 years. Ella has stopped treatments for cancer and John has Alzheimer’s disease.
“The Father” -2020- Octogenarian actor Anthony Hopkins plays the role of Anthony, a man increasingly frustrated by his dementia as he seeks to maintain an independent life in the 2020 film “The Father,” directed by Florian Zeller.
“What They Had” – 2018 – Actor Blythe Danner, playing the role of Ruth, first wanders off into the snow in the 2018 film “What They Had.” It’s what leads her daughter Bridget, played by Hilary Swank, to return home to Chicago to help care for Ruth as Alzheimer’s disease claims her memory and independence.
“Remember” – 2015 -The late Christopher Plummer starred in “Remember” as a man who survived the Holocaust at Auschwitz. But, in his twilight years in New York City, he realizes that dementia will prevent him from finishing a mission to avenge the World War II deaths of his family.
“Elizabeth is Missing” – 2019 – Glenda Jackson stars as Maud, a woman living with dementia. The film follows Maud’s journey as she tries to understand a mystery about her missing friend, and how the mists of memory about a long-lost sister shape her experience.
“Lovely Still” – This 2008 romantic comedy-drama stars Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Adam Scott, and Elizabeth Banks. It tells the story of a lonesome older man named Robert (Landau) who is surprised to be asked on a date by his new neighbor, Mary (Burstyn).
“The Savages” – 2007 – Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play siblings in this tragic comedy about adult children who are caring for a parent with dementia.
“Aurora Borealis” – 2005 – Stars Donald Sutherland (again) and Louise Fletcher steal the show—Sutherland plays a grandfather with dementia who requires more care than his wife (Fletcher) can take on.
“The Notebook” – 2004 – Based on Nicholas Sparks’s best-selling novel, “The Notebook,” this film stars James Garner as Noah, the loving husband of Allie (Gena Rowlands), who has Alzheimer’s and is living in a nursing home. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams play the couple in their younger years.
“A Song for Martin” – 2001 – Martin is a conductor and composer while Barbara is a violinist. They meet and marry in middle age, but soon after, they discover that Martin has Alzheimer’s.
“Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch” – 2001 – Based on the book “Elegy for Iris“ by John Bayley, this movie tells the true story of English novelist Iris Murdoch developing Alzheimer’s and the unconditional love of Bayley, her partner of 40 years.
“Firefly Dreams” – 2001 – This is a Japanese film with English subtitles. It tells the story of Naomi (Maho), a troubled teen who gets sent to the country for the summer to work for her aunt and uncle. Naomi is asked to care for an aging neighbor with Alzheimer’s. She is initially unhappy about the arrangement but soon connects with the woman in a transformative way.
“Old Age Friends” – 1989 – In this classic film, Hume Cronyn gave a great performance as John Cooper, who chose to live in a retirement home instead of with his daughter (played by Cronyn’s real-life daughter Tandy Cronyn), as a symbol of maintaining his independence.
Storytelling in movies (c) compiled by Judith Allen Shone, Copyrights for movies and YouTube presenters acknowledged.
Photo: Lady with her laptop: https://www.pexels.com/@karolina-grabowska
Accepting the Gift of Caregiving 