Best movie of this year hands down!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Has there ever been a more thoroughly lovable documentary than Young@Heart? We doubt it, though it would be hard to go wrong when the subject is a choir made up of high-spirited septuagenarians, octogenarians and even a couple of nonagenarians who travel around the world, singing not - as one might logically expect - old standards, but rather modern rock and even punk-rock tunes to wildly-applauding sold-out audiences. Though most of the members of Young@Heart admit to preferring Brahms, Bach, and Rogers and Hammerstein to the likes of Coldplay, the Clash, and Sonic Youth, the enthusiasm and professionalism they bring to their work may belie that assertion somewhat. Plus, it's the dichotomy between the age of the singers and the modernism of the material that gives the group its very special - and salable - raison d'etre.In 2007, British director Stephen Walker went to Massachusetts to document the group's preparation for their latest tour. He shows us how these physically frail but emotionally indomitable old folk manage to forge on ahead, through all their aches and pains and life-threatening ailments, to produce something truly unique and beautiful in the entertainment world. They may not always hit the right note, but their spirits shine through in every number. Yet, Walker doesn't sentimentalize or patronize his subjects. He lets us get to know them as individuals through their histories and their stories. That goes for Bob Cilman, the group's then 53-year-old choir director, as well, a sometimes stern taskmaster with a full heart and an infinite capacity for patience. And an obvious love for his choir members.There's humor, inspiration and heartbreak embedded in virtually every frame of the film, with one scene, in particular - a performance by the group at a prison right after they've learned that one of their members has passed away - that is guaranteed to have you bawling like a baby. It's the rendition of "Forever Young" that tears at the heartstrings in that instance, and it is a haunting solo performance of "Nothing Compares 2 You," performed in honor of another member who dies immediately afterward, that produces the same effect just a few scenes later.But it's when they get on stage that the true magic happens - a symbiotic connection between the performers and their audience that is indeed a wonder to behold.Naturally, given the age of many of the choir's members, the movie ends on a bittersweet note, honoring those who didn't survive till the film's completion and release - most prominently, 93-year-old Eileen Hall, a prominent subject of the film who walks off with the movie and the audience's heart. The movie provides a fitting bit of immortality for this funny, big-hearted and life-affirming woman.All I can say is that if you ever need an instant pick-me-up or a renewal of your faith in humanity, Young@Heart is guaranteed to do the trick.

Imagine sitting in a room with 30 other people and an average age of 75.Imagine you and your peers recently toured Europe, singing covers of rock songs to sold-out audiences.Now you're back in the rehearsal studio and you're listening to a song that your great-granddaughter may adore but to you is a mishmash of noise. You can't decipher the words, let alone the staccato of the drum beat.Your leader asks you to try to listen to it because later on he will ask you to sing it. You're not a quitter, having survived numerous heart bypass surgeries, and moreover the leader has faith in you, so you adjust your hearing aid and persevere.When you ultimately perform the song on a stage in a sold-out amphitheater, everyone applauds.You did it! *** When was the last time you clapped and chuckled at a group of octogenarians singing covers to Sonic Youth, David Bowie, the Ramones, and James Brown? If you were like me, then see this film!

YOUNG AT HEART (2008) **** Rock of ages In Stephen Walker's documentary –or should I say 'rockumentary' – the Young at Heart Chorus, a group of senior citizens who sing rock and roll songs, based in Northhampton, MA, is profiled with breadth and levity showcasing their individual talents as well as performing as an ensemble, as well as their ailments and the living testimony that it is never too late to rock 'n' roll.Founded by Bob Cilman, a fifty something year old 'kid', originally as a choir specializing in old pop standards, Broadway show tunes and 'old folk' music he came up with the idea over 25 years ago to incorporate classic and contemporary rock staples which became something of a gimmick at first but fully realized as something more: underscoring many of the lyrics with a unique perspective and interpretation by his octogenarian sect (the media age of 80).Since then the group has barnstormed all over the country – and the world – and getting much acclaim. Walker films the several weeks of rehearsal for a new gig and Cilman's tough task-master skills at display in attempting to get his singers to hit the right notes, pick up the right beat cues and most importantly now the song cold. While there are some frustrations felt by Cilman for the most part he is fair and allows his group the time and effort to develop into a finely tuned body that is surprising in the process not only how they are attuned but also how they function. What is unexpected is the melancholy feel throughout as some of the members fall into bad health situations (sadly two of its key singers pass away before their fated concert the film focuses on) but it is also with plenty of humor, insight of what it means to be elderly but not 'old' and how in the autumn of one's life one can appreciate a new calling (i.e. many of the choir prefer classical music than the genre they are covering).The true highlights are the short videos interspersed through out the doc including "Stayin' Alive", "I Wanna Be Sedated" and a clever "On the Road To Nowhere", as well as a performance at a state prison to a captive audience. I was overwhelmed by the professionalism the troupe displayed as 'amateurs' in the old adage "the show must go on" and the true emotional peak is member Fred Knittle's heart- wrenching work on Coldplay's "Fix You" as a suitable eulogy to his fallen comrades; if you don't cry then you are simply made of stone.I whole-heartedly recommend you to seek this indie doc out and experience rock and roll in its purest form I've seen in a long time: aged yet wise, like a fine wine. One of the year's best.

A few weeks ago, I spied a headline stating that the oldest Americans are also the happiest. I didn't read the article to see exactly why this is, but I suspect that "Young @ Heart" provides at least a partial answer. In this smile-inducing documentary, we see a group of retirees between the ages of 73 and 92 getting together a few times a week to sing songs they don't know and bond with each other in a way most of us without excessive free time can't conceive of.Bob Cilman is the the leader of the Young at Hear chorus of Northampton, MA. He is a stern but sympathetic taskmaster who once a year gives the choir new songs to learn--mostly R&B and soul classics from the '60's through the early '70's, and punk & new wave tunes from the mid-'70's to the present. At first this seems funny and weird. The film plays off of this expectation by opening with the oldest choir member doing a deadpan rendition of the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go", and including a tongue-in-cheek video of the choir's version of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated".Although most of the songs the choir performs are over-familiar to those of us under 60, the choir members grew up before the dawn of the classic rock era, and aren't familiar with music created after 1959. Their tastes in music range from classical to show tunes, not R&B or punk. But they participate not only for the camaraderie, but to keep their minds limber in their old age. They know as well as anyone that it gets harder to learn the older one gets, and after about 55 or so it becomes impossible unless one acquires good mental habits, such as doing puzzles, journal-writing, or trying to sing songs one doesn't really know. And this is why Cilman chooses the songs he does. The R&B tunes (which the choir members love) are rhythmically complex, but have simple lyrics. And the punk tunes (which the choir members hate) have complex lyrics, but simple rhythms and melodies.The main focus of the film is the choir's trying to learn three new songs: "Yes We Can" by Allen Toussaint, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, and "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth. But the emotional core of the film is their learning of a fourth song--"Fix You" by Coldplay--after the deaths of two choir members (a third member died during post-production).I laughed, cried, and smiled throughout the whole film. And it was a bit jolting to know that in just a few years, the thought of old people singing rock music won't be such a novelty. After all, their repertoire include Allen Toussaint, James Brown, and the Jefferson Airplane--all of whom were born seventy or more years ago. The only bits I didn't like are where director Stephen Walker tries to get a laugh at the expense of the choir: He flirts with a 92-year-old woman and sneers at the driving skills of one of the few choir members who still has his own car.But overall, this is a tribute to the power of music and friendship to transcend age, infirmity and even mortality to make the end of life worth living. 9 out of 10.