35 Up

In a sense it is remarkable that over the 28 years up to this film, all of the original subjects are still alive.

I still wonder if way back then, Michael Apted had this great vision for, or if he just stumbled upon, this superb study of human nature and how humans grow up. The whole series has been a fascination for me. Now my public library has the whole DVD series, 6 films on 5 discs, and right now it is in my viewing room. Having seen "42 UP" a few years ago, the DVD series has given me the opportunity to see all of them. What a fine series it is. Now I want to see "49 UP"!!

At 35 each of the subjects are well into their lives and it is fascinating to see into how many directions they have gone. And, in a real sense, all of them are successful, when we define success as finding fulfillment in where you are and in what you do. Neil is the only possible exception, but Neil is bright and, although he thinks he may be slowly going mad, he accurately sizes up the whole mad world around all of us. So, from my point of view, even Neil is successful.

The fifth chapter in the ongoing seven-year cycle of documentaries catches up with all but two of the original kids, after following their development from childhood through repressed adolescence to (mostly) hopeful young adulthood, and here to a more or less stable maturity. The changes in the past seven years are less dramatic than those revealed in '28 Up', but with each new installment the series grows more rich and provocative, and seeing the latest episode is like visiting old friends.

Some of the stories have taken surprising turns: the upper class snobbery of Andrew and John (who refused to appear in the previous film) has mellowed with age. Destitute Neil is doing community theater in the Shetland Islands. And the trio of friends (Jackie, Lynn and Sue), whose lives were the least interesting seven years earlier now each deserve their own separate film (one of them is suffering, with bitterness, from an obscure neurological disorder). Director Michael Apted's socio-political assumptions have long since fallen by the wayside; the series might have started as an experiment in social upbringing with an eye on class distinctions, but if anything the films prove that time is the great equalizer.

Ho-hum. This is my least favorite of the series so far. Except for Neil and Bruce (doing a teaching stint in Bangladesh), there's not much going on with these people that's surprising or interesting (I do still like Nick for some reason, but his life isn't all that thrilling). A couple of divorces, a few dead parents, but nothing that special and nothing that revealing. John is back, slightly less douchey for his humanitarian work in Bulgaria, but still obviously a twit underneath. In a rather odd turn, Symon -- the one ethnic minority of the group -- doesn't even get a mention, his existence has been completely erased from the series. Hopefully this is by his own request. The larger problem here is that the recaps are starting to overwhelm the new material. Roughly half of the film, possibly more, consists of previous clips. And it's almost always the same clips, meaning there are many parts of Seven Up that I've now seen five times. Again, this is probably best for people watching one of these every seven years, but as an at-home DVD experience it's a drag. It feels like all you really need to do is watch the most recent installment and to hell with the others. And yet, I'm moving on to the next one anyway. Despite my griping, there is an addictive quality to these films.

The 'Up Series' represents one of the most fascinating and unusual uses of film in cinema history - a documentary life-long chronicle of the lives of 14 people starting at 7 years old, revisiting them every seven years through age 49 (so far).

While I could quibble, wishing for a bit more depth here and there (especially with the women, where there's a bit too much emphasis on love and marriage at the expense of all else), it's really an astounding, moving, frightening and uplifting document. There's no way to watch this remarkable series of films without reflecting deeply on one's own life, and how you have changed (and stayed the same) over your own lifetime.

While Michael Aped deserves every bit of credit he's received for this amazing piece of cultural anthropology, it's important to note this first film, 7 Up,was actually directed by Paul Almond, and Apted was a that point a researcher for the project.

The best thing i have ever seen in my life. By far. Go on my profile. Look at how many films there are. And look how many 10's. Look how many reviews i've made. Not one review since 2016. 10 10's since then. And not once have i been compelled to write a review for them. Only to hold them forever. This, i will more than hold forever. I will think of it forever. My goodness. To watch 28 up. To decide it a 10. And to then watch 35 up. And decide it in the category of it's own, the reviewed 10. Well, it says it all. It is planet earth with people and therefore the planet earth. It everything, the word "everything" here, most certainly important. It is what god intended with the moving image. Please, god, let them do 70. God, i'm a die hard. Crowdfund it, anything. Make this essential viewing. It is just amazing what we were, how we are and what we come to be. I have been looking for 35 up all my life. It would be unfair to hold it against anything. It is its own. Consider it un-rateable. Merely the feeling and impact. Unquantifiable. My one review and so utterly deserving. Never say never, but i am to perhaps never top it. In fact, i strongly believe i never will top it. For me, as far as films, movies go - well, i'd have to review another damn thing for you (if anyone) or i to know. If you are reading this; go on, have a look. See if i've reviewed anything since. If not, you have your answer. If not, it was all i ever needed to see. I'll come back to it in 7 years, though i suspect the feeling to last a lifetime.