Unsere Seelen bei Nacht

An elderly man, sitting alone at a four-person table in his dining area, eats his dinner surrounded by silence, staring at nothing. This quick opening sequence is movie-shorthand for character exposition (the man is a widower--probably for a while now--in an obvious rut, still eating supper at the same time every night, in the same chair, just as he would if his wife were alive), and I feared the worst. Luckily, this script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, adapting Kent Haruf's novel, proves to be a solid job of writing. Robert Redford plays the widower who no sooner sits down with his newspaper before he gets a surprise visit from down-the-street neighbor and widow Jane Fonda, an acquaintance of his late wife's. She proposes an initially-puzzling proposition: since they are both alone--and lonely, she presumes--and she has a hard time sleeping anyway, why don't they spend their nights together, platonically, in the same bed? It takes Redford a day to consider it, and their first sleepover is awkward, but soon the strangeness wears off and the couple comes to cherish their not-so-secret, non-intimate evenings. Sensitive study of small town lives, old wounds, family problems, loss, greetings and farewells, is tenderly and astutely rendered. This handsomely-shot film for Netflix may be criticized for being too polite, too tasteful, but you come to want the best for these people, even in the midst of life's big and small messes. The dialogue is vivid--amazingly so--and the supporting cast is uniformly excellent. This is the finest effort from either Redford or Fonda in many years; together, they provide a lovely duet.

I watched this movie in MAMI, year round program film screening. I had also got opportunity to interact with director of the film - Ritesh Batra. He is called as cinematic tinder of common man, because he brings romance into lives of characters that have faced struggle and challenges in life.

It is a beautiful story of old aged woman and man who were living alone for years after their spouses have died. They break silence and start sleeping over same bed only to escape loneliness. Both of them continue talking and gossiping about their past lives, happy moments as well as regrets. Their children have grown up and are living their own independent life. Film is an emotional drama, warmth in relationships, and shows sense of human life in dialogues. It explores psyche of old age through their responses to life circumstances. Film end up teaching many life lessons through these characters. Addie regrets that she has spent years thinking what people would be talking about her.

Film is adapted from the novel of same name by Kent Haruf, who died just few weeks after publishing his last novel.

I very much enjoyed this unusual movie depicting the lives of two people in their older, and in this case, more lonesome years.

Both Fonda and Redford gave nuanced performances which were very relatable, especially if you are over the age of 60. I doubt that very young adults would find much to enjoy about this picture, and that is a shame because in fact it displays well the one thing which people cannot lose if they are to continue enjoying their lives into their last decades, and that is hope.

So often younger people do not appreciate the wisdom and humanity which both come with age. Nor do they realize that if they are lucky, they, too, will be old one day.

If you want a sweet look into lives of the older but certainly not dead yet, this would be a good place to do so.

The source of interest was, for me, the presence in cast of Jane Fonda and Robert Redford as a sort of return to old cinema, more full of wisdom, serenity and real good job of actors, out of ambitions of blockbuster and a lot of special effects.

But the film proposes more than nice flavors of late time.

From the eccentric, only at the first sight, proposition of Addie, to the life of comunity, marriage crisis and death of child, relation with children, new chance and a call in night , confessions, memories, reactions of others, it is just a comfortable oasis , soft, precise in detail, proposing a sort of romance who is easy to be feel by a generation not so young but far to accept the fall of life.

A delicate poetry and admirable use of silent moments, good cinema and a rare delicacy serving the cause of a sort of friendship between two neighbors , not very familiar one with other, but discovering sparkles of life in gentle manner, returning to true love.

A film choosing its public with grace . And a beautiful story.

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford both aged 80 in a 2017 movie, what a treat! The acting is superb as you would expect. To find love again at this age is the dream of many elderly widows and widowers. Life is still complicated even at this age and both have family to consider. It is not fast paced with a lot of action but it is a good script for these two actors in their twilight years. The atmosphere created by their very presence and experience is beautiful. They are a joy to watch. This movie may be wasted on some young viewers but there will be some who can appreciate perfection when they see it. For older people who know these two from previous movies just sit back and know we are lucky to have this movie from them. It is probably worth more than 8 but the lack of action and intrigue makes it a bit tame for some viewers. The acting is worth 10 though!