WINTER AT WESTBETH

This absorbing and uplifting documentary explores the lives of three elderly people, artists in their own rights, who reside at the Westbeth Artist retirement community in New Jersey, US. Established in 1970, the community contains 385 rent-controlled apartments, which makes this the largest of its type in the world.

A writer and two dancers aged in their seventies and nineties detail their achievements in life, their passion for the arts and their impending mortality.

These elderly artists who seem to bloom with the flowers claim that ‘the older you get the more you think of life’. Not all of these residents consider themselves to be retired and they seem to have much more energy and passion for their craft than much younger artists.

Through candid interviews, vintage photographs and footage, these elderly people discuss the importance of their work, their health issues, the preciousness of life and the ideology that artists of their generation who have contributed so much to the world of arts are no longer respected.

“I’m not ready to say goodbye – I’m ready to say hello,” exclaims one of these artists as she contemplates her next task.

This is a fine tribute to the elderly community in general, who have so many stories to tell and who also believe that the ageing process doesn’t have to slow them down. (MMo)

★★★1/2