film
Nothing to do with death and dying
Music makes us all ‘Alive Inside’
by Michael J. Casey
L
ast night I pulled out a favorite Rotten Tomatoes sharpens the mind. The proof is in the album of mine that I had not pudding every time Cohen presses play. listened to in some time, Yet, Alive Inside is not really about Doolittle by Pixies. Within secCohen and his musical cure. Alive Inside onds, I was transported to is a not-so-subtle attack on how Americans turn a blind eye to aging and another time, another place. A smile sickness. According to Alive Inside, 5 milcrept across my face, my feet began to tap and a series of memories flooded forth. lion Americans have been diagnosed with How does this happen? Where do dementia, and prescription medication these memories, so vivid they seem tangiand nursing home care reigns supreme. ble, come from? How is it that a pop We make way for tomorrow by shuffling song can bring forth something that no grandma and grandpa off, loading them other work of art can? up with pills and condemning them to “Music connects people with who spend the rest of their days receding into they have been, who they are and their their own minds. It’s an undignified way lives,” explains Dan Cohen, the subject to end one’s life. of the documentary Alive Inside, which Alive Inside compares that life to the Alive Inside shows the transformative power of music in elderly and mentally ill people. is playing at The Boedecker Theatre one Nell Hardie lives with her husband, Oct. 8–11. Cohen, founder of the notNorman. The Hardies have been using for-profit Music & Memory, works tireHenry — whose viral video is what spurred on this music at home, and with success, to ward lessly to help patients with dementia access their documentary — undergo an unbelievable transformaoff dementia for 10 years now. The Hardies combat memory through the power of music. It is a long, tion. Prior to the music, Henry couldn’t recognize his the disease not with medication, but with music and uphill battle that Cohen faces, but the results keep own daughter, but with “Goin’ Up Yonder” playing, with devotion. It’s working, but it takes time, care and him optimistic. Henry can answer questions with clarity. a whole lot of love. Armed with a simple iPod, Cohen visits patients Cohen and first-time documentarian Michael Cohen’s cure isn’t just music — although music with varying degrees of dementia, Alzheimer’s and, in Rossato-Bennett travel to various nursing homes, does make everything better — it’s attention. What one case, schizophrenia to see if music will stir somerepeating this experiment over and over again, positing could be more effective than basic human interaction? thing in them. It does. The music starts, and these that music may be the most effective tool to combat Not much. As I watched one patient, Connie, weeping comatose patients spring to life. Most sing, many dementia. Alive Inside doesn’t spend much of its lean and happily hugging Cohen, a line from Kurt dance and some are so overcome with emotion they running time (78 minutes) on the science of this musi- Vonnegut ran through my mind: “There’s only one rule burst into tears. It’s one of the most joyous things you cal cure, choosing to show rather than tell, but here is that I know of, babies — God damn it, you’ve got to will ever see. the short and skinny: It works because it stimulates the be kind!” Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com It sounds too good to be true, but people like patients, forcing them to interact, and that interaction
ALIVE INSIDE
IVORY TOWER
ROAD TO EDEN
See full review above. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
A shocking and disturbing look at higher education in the U.S., Ivory Tower examines the many problems facing universities and students who attend them. Filmmaker Andrew Rossi brings to light the crisis looming for these young people, asking, “Is it all worth the cost?” Only 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14, IFS at Muenzinger Auditorium.
Road to Eden is a documentary that follows Dan Nicols and his band in the fall of 2011 as they travel the American Deep South during the Jewish Festival of Sukkot. Sukkot, for the Gentiles out there, is the last of Three Pilgrimage Festivals, known for being an unreservedly joyful week-long holiday. For Nicols and his band, each town, each day, is a new adventure, a new celebration, even through heartbreaking stories, and the movie as a whole reminds us that we are all traveling together on a road to a better future. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
BOYHOOD
Director Richard Linklater filmed Boyhood over 12 years with the same cast, cinematically charting the rocky terrain of childhood. We take our journey through the eyes of a young boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), who grows up on screen before our eyes. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette act as Mason’s parents, and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Boyhood will also be shown at the International Film Festival, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 and 11, Muenzinger Auditorium.
CLOSED CURTAIN
Banned Iranian filmmaker Panahi made this semi-autobiographical film in secret.This is the story of a screenwriter who goes into hiding with his dog after the regime declares dogs “impure” and bans them from walking in public, an actual law in Iran. A young woman in need shows up on his doorstep to disrupt his solitude. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
CRAFT BEER-PAIRING DINNER
BRU Handbuilt Ales & Eats is turning its October beer dinner into a celebration of food, beer and film with a multi-course meal paired with BRU’s seasonal offerings and craft beer documentary, CRAFT. Only 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14, IFS at Muenzinger Auditorium.
58 October 9, 2014
LAND HO! An exploration of aging, loneliness and friendship within the story of a pair of 60-something ex brothers-in-law on a road trip through Iceland. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
LA SYLPHIDE — PARIS OPERA BALLET The first of two versions of the ballet premiered at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opéra with choreography by Filippo Taglioni and music by JeanMadeleine Schneitzhoeffer. Ultimately, the ballet is a story about the insatiable human desire to find true love. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS A dramatic film on demonic possession, director Jerzy Kawalerowicz places his camera in the figurative and literal position of God, and puts a spin on cliched “black is evil, white is good” symbolism. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961. Only 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, IFS at Muenzinger Auditorium.
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORTS: 2014 With both fiction and documentary, the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 94-minute theatrical program of eight short films from the 2014 edition of the festival. Only 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12, IFS at Muenzinger Auditorium.
WAKING LIFE A movie that speaks to the existential crisis occuring in us all at one point or another — what does it all mean? Created with rotoscoping-style animation, the film creates a trippy experience for viewers as they journey along with a man as he traipses through dreams searching for the meaning of life and the purpose of the universe. Only 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, IFS at VAC Basement Auditorium. Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
Boulder Weekly