Edith+Eddie

Edith+Eddie is a heartwarming, yet heartbreaking short documentary about a relationship between a recently married couple who are both in their 90s. The doc tells the story of their fight against social workers who want to force Edith to move away from her love Eddie. The documentary keeps you invested in there cute relationship for the entire 29 minute runtime. As a viewer, I felt all types of emotions including sadness, joy, and frustration while watching this film, and that is one of the reasons I liked it. The film makes you feel so much. Overall, I think the film is a great short doc that I would recommend to most.

I'm not going to get deep into what other reviewers have already said about this film about an elderly couple who have their lifestyle and lives taken from them. The couple is very sweet, and seem somewhat capable, considering their advanced age. But they don't seem to be capable of being very articulate about their predicament. They are aware of what is happening, but don't seem to understand the complexity of the situation... maybe they do, but if so, it doesn't make it onto the film. One of Edith's daughters is present in the movie (and their lives) the other is not. The daughter who is present seems to be strong and articulate, and to be acting in Edith & Eddie's best interest. She did have power of attorney for Edith, but it isn't clear why she lost it. If she were present, why was power of attorney taken from her?

Also, there is no explanation of why the other daughter, the one who has Edith moved away from Eddie, is not on screen. Did she turn down offers from the filmmakers to be part of the film? Was she not given the opportunity to participate?

In the end, we can only speculate about the other side of the story. The perspective of the film is that the daughter who does not appear in the film has only self-interest in mind. But we do have some information that can inform our speculation:

• The film states that the attorney acting as Edith's advocate never met Edith. We are not given any perspective as to why that might be, but I can think of no good reason for this. How can anyone make decisions for someone without consulting with them to learn about what their needs and desires are? Or what their true situation is?
• Edith is removed from her home and placed in care of the daughter who is not represented in the film, with the promise that it is only temporary, and with the promise that Eddie may speak to her every day. The film doesn't even ask why she isn't placed in care of the local daughter, who has apparently been caring for Edith and Eddie for years. But back to those promises: Both of them are broken. Eddie is completely cut off from communication from his wife, and his wife is not returned after the two weeks.

In the end, my take is that the filmmakers probably have the correct perspective, but I am unsatisfied that so much of this story is left out. I left the film feeling infuriated that these happy, mostly healthy people were forced apart. But because they didn't tell the whole story, the part of the story that disagrees with their perspective, I feel manipulated. I feel that the filmmakers think that the public might draw a different conclusion than their own, and therefore left out any information that did not support their point of view. Perhaps they would have included the other perspective if they had more time, but it doesn't feel that way... it feels like they began with the perspective that the other point of view was just wrong, and therefore didn't deserve to be voiced.

This heartwarming story 'Americans Americas oldest interracial Newlyweds' is about two people of different races who fell in love and got married at the age of 95 and 96, Edith and Eddie. Edith has dementia and her family wants to send Edith to Florida so she can be with her daughter, but Edith does not want to go and Eddie does not want her to go and they end up calling the police to try to get Edith to go. The camera angles in this documentary emphasizes that different races can be happy together no matter where they are, example a Edith and Eddie sitting by the lake they used this by a long shot, they did this shot by being behind the couple so we can see what Edith and Eddie were seeing. This documentary made me feel sad in some ways e.g. When they were trying to force Edith to Florida and happy in other ways e.g. when Edith and Eddie were by the lake. I would recommend this to a more mature audience because I do not think people my age would really like this type of story.

The Oscar Award winning documentary short, 'Edith and Eddie', is an emotional story of an elderly bi-racial marriage. The couple is faced by a variety of depressing situations, which are slowly tearing them apart. Conflict evolves between sisters, over caring for their aging Mother. As Edith was diagnosed with dementia, her self-care was taken out her hands. The disease then stopping Edith from making decisions about her own life. Edith and Eddie fall in-love at the age of 95 and 96. As they are of two different races, they have people fighting against their relationship. Set in America, the directors have been able to persuade the audience emotionally through the use of symbolism, settings and camera angles. The two different races are conveyed through extreme close ups, viewing the close bond between two people of different colour skin. We view blackouts, symbolising many traumatising events and moments of loss. The documentary allows us a "Window into their lives", giving us an understanding of what Edith and Eddie are experiencing. Edith and Eddie are religious, relying on God to be their guide to keep their relationship alive. Their religious community acts as a support network for their relationship, as they lack support from authority. I believe the documentary successfully conveys the feeling of sorrow for Edith and Eddie. Yet, it leaves the audience clueless about the other side of the truth. As the directors presented an explicit "Good guy and Bad guy", we are left with unanswered questions about their stories. As a viewer, the documentary gave me a sense of hope for the aging couple. I was captured as the story hit the climax, a tear swelling in my eye; they never lost hope or gave up. I had a clear view of which characters supported Edith and Eddie, and which ones didn't. I recommend this documentary for a mature audience, as there may be some confronting themes. An emotional story of a loving couple, through a challenging time of their life. This documentary shows many moments of loss and sadness, yet so much hope.

The Documentary of Edith and Eddie is a sad story with people in love. This story has a beautiful background. I would recommend this to others especially people that love a sad story of two people in love. In the film it shows two people in love being separated but had a happy life with bumps on the way. This inspires people that you are never too old to fall in love. At the start of the documentary, it tells us how Edith and Eddie meet. At first sight, they fell in love. The start is so sweet, it does not matter what the race they where they fell in love. It teaches people a lesson. At any age and any race, you can still be in love.