306 Hollywood

source: 306 Hollywood

I really enjoyed your documentary. I have to admit that I am more than a little jealous that I never thought to do something like this. At one point in time I had five generations alive on both sides in my family. While I do have pictures I always wish there were something more. We spent most of our time with my grandmother on my fathers side. She was an incredible woman. She passed away just shy of her 100th birthday. Her mother lived to be 103 and my other great grandmother was 101. I found your tribute to be heartwarming, loving, inspiring and hopeful. I say hopeful because I hope that this truly amazing story will remind others that we don't live forever and to cherish every moment we have with our loved ones. And given the opportunity we should do everything we can to preserve their memories for future generations.

First, I love this kind of film. I really liked a lot about the film. It was creative and endearing but I feel like it lacked information. You had asked her 87 questions over 10 years but I feel like we barely heard any of them. I agree with the others and thought the scene of taking her clothes off was completely unnecessary and embarrassing for her and it lasted way too long. I feel like you really skimmed the surface on what was supposed to be a family documentary but turned it into a very stylized student film project. However, you had a lot of great ideas especially the women dancing in front of the house with the dresses and the reenactment of the family audio tape. I'm glad I watched it and I think your grandma was precious but I would have liked to get to know her a little more through your film.

I think so many of us can relate. The history of the life of someone we love so very much. The difficulty in letting go of what is left behind. I was uncomfortable when she was encouraged to undress on camera, I'm certain that the filmmakers doubted themselves on that one. Since I tend to give the benefit of the doubt I hoped that it was a treasured and intimate moment between the three of them. Annette doesn't seem humiliated to me. Some people are more comfortable with that kind of exposure than others. I am hoping that is the case.

This entire movie was pretty poorly done. I had to quit watching when they had their grandmother who was in her late 80's strip to her underwear on camera and try on a too small dress she wore as a young woman. How degrading to do that to someone you supposedly love. She kept saying "this is ridiculous" and she was correct.

I wanted to like this movie, I like this kind of movie. But it was was pretentious in every way. The siblings that narrate the story think more highly of themselves then their grandmother, it appears. I would liked to have seen more about the grandmother and less about what their idea of a good film is. Long title cards, pointless sweeping camera movements. Watching their poor grandmother undress as she says 'please no'. They show the same undressed grandma three times in the movie. They have 10 years of video tapes and this is what they show. I never leave poor reviews, most movies have redeeming qualities, but these two siblings really pissed me off. The grandma seems wonderful, wish I could have seen more of her.

As a genealogist I loved the premise: an archeological dig in their late grandmother's house: so much to be learned about who someone truly was from their documents and artifacts. But watching the documentary it's almost as if these filmmakers think they have nothing left to learn about their grandmother because they filmed interviews with her. The artifacts they find are just objects to them for some stylized filmmaking. There's no attempt to learn anything new or understand their grandmother on a deeper level. What did she leave out in their interviews? Who was she as a young lady without their grandfather: the part of herself her grandchildren might not see? The parts she didn't think were important or didn't remember? You certainly can't say anything was left out to preserve her dignity. As nearly every other reviewer has mentioned, a particularly offensive scene shows the filmmakers' mother (a spot-on impression of Suzy from Curb Your Enthusiasm complete with the f-bombs) patronizing her nearly 90-year-old mother into taking off her clothes down to her bra and panties on camera to try on one of her old dresses. Grandma is clearly uncomfortable but no one is interested in what Grandma wants or how Grandma feels. At a certain point I couldn't watch any more and had to fast forward. The inclusion of this footage in the documentary shows no respect for the subject and makes her daughter and grandchildren look manipulative and exploitative. I can't help but feel this is more about the filmmakers' feelings than their grandmother or any aspect of her as a person, and this is reinforced by their constant need to insert their unrelated personal details into the documentary (nobody cares about you going to school in Rome). I think this was a great premise for a documentary wasted on filmmakers who were too arrogant to think they had anything left to learn about their grandmother, or that they owed her any kind of dignity in death.

The film is meant to be a tribute to their grandmother. However there are some segments in the film that would in my opinion humiliate grandma. Also the producers mother uses language that I believe or perhaps hope is scripted rather than her natural tongue. There are many sentimental scenes in this film but I was left feeling uncomfortable by what I have referenced.

Years ago I read an interview with a studio head who said something like 90% of the scripts they get only the writers mother would enjoy.... today they make a documentary. So many family stories that not even the family would be interested in are turned in to documentaries that no one wants to watch. But Simka went to film school so let her make a film. If your Simka or are sleeping with her you have to watch... the rest of us don't.

Although clearly rooted in deep affection and love, I found this to be an unfortunate, self-indulgent, ultimately disrespectful, and at times humiliating film. Like others, I was particularly disturbed by the filmmakers' decision to almost literally lay-bare their diminished, beloved grandmother on camera, despite her seeming discomfort. One hopes that Grandma's "atoms" were not able to tune in for a screening. Using a personal archaeological investigation of a home as a lens for understanding one's life is intriguing, but the approach was not fully realized. The end result is aesthetically slick but feels superficial.