Some Kind of Heaven

2021 • 82 minuter

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First-time feature director Lance Oppenheim cracks the manicured façade of The Villages, America's largest retirement community - a massive, self-contained utopia located in Central Florida. Behind the gates of this palm tree-lined fantasyland, SOME KIND OF HEAVEN invests in the dreams and desires of a small group of Villages residents - and one interloper - who are unable to find happiness within the community's pre-packaged paradise. With strikingly composed cinematography, this candy-colored documentary offers a tender and surreal look at the never-ending quest for finding meaning and love in life's final act.

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I was mesmerized by this documentary. It has a beautiful visual aesthetic of carefully composed, rich, saturated images. The Villages, the huge retirement city in Florida, seems like such a surreal place, like a distillation of so many American ideals (for better and sometimes for worse). They've created a theme park, dreamland of small town Americana. Where you can have margaritas and go dancing every night. One woman, thinking about buying a house, remarks how much she loves how all the buildings she can see from her window all look the same and will probably never change. The plot follows some outliers in the community, people who aren't quite "living the dream" of retirement. A recent widower, a man secretly poor and living in a van illegally, and a married couple going through very different experiences of their golden years together. There is a real feeling of intimacy and care between the camera and the characters. I thought it was a beautiful, surreal and philosophical movie about how people, at any age, never stop transforming and searching for meaning.

I see a lot of people saying not to watch this because it's depressing. It has it's sad moments but, it's real life. The director purposefully found people who didn't feel as though the Villages was the heaven it is said to be. That's what makes this doc so good. You really get a feel for the characters in an almost traditional narrative sense that you would see in a fictional film. Their struggles are reliable and grounded in reality. The cinematography is stunning, making use of Wes Anderson-esque (symmetrical surrealist) shots that made me pause to really take them in. The aspect ratio they use also helps to create an intimate connection with the characters. The film is well paced and doesn't try to force it's opinions on you. It simply shows you a glimpse into these people's lives and leaves the conclusion for you to decide. All in all, if you are looking for a film that makes you consider your mortality and helps you understand the prospective of those who try to find paradise in their late years, this is the film for you. Looking forward to what Lance Oppenheim does next. *A couple of my personal takeaways: You're never too old to change or find love. Paradise is a place that you create for yourself.

I have visited the Villages. It was interesting to see the other side of Villages that The Villages shows in their PR. This film developed characters well especially the widow from Massachusetts and the couple married 47 years.. Both showed a range of emotions, I liked how the film portrayed real life sadness in their lives and then commitment to moving forward.