Meu Pai

This is a film that stays with you. Of course there's the brilliant performances but there's more. While other films have taken on old age and dementia, those films took on coping with a significant other's condition. The difference here is that the film is from the sufferer's perspective. You therefore see these events as if you yourself have dementia. And it's stunning how, when you walk away, you know you can.

It's just so sad and also a bit terrifying. My wife works as a nurse in an alzheimer's ward, and she said this is the most realistic depiction of the disease she has ever seen. She also said in her opinion it should be required viewing for anyone that works with alzheimer's or dementia patients. What a movie!

The Father couldn't be more realistic when talking about Alzheimer's disease. I've seen my grandfather walking that path. He was a smart man but once the dementia kicked in he was barely recognizable, which was a hard thing to witness when you knew him as the intellectual he was. The Father just nailed this subject, bringing back so many memories, memories we would rather forget but that you can't. Living with a loved one with this disease isn't easy at all, certainly not when that person sometimes doesn't remember who you are. I didn't knew Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his role, but after watching this movie I can only say it's highly deserved. It's probably one of his better performances ever, and that at 83 years old. The Father isn't a movie that will give you a lot of joy, it's sad and scary but certainly worth watching. Nobody wants to have a loved one suffering from dementia, it's a nightmare to live with. I remember my grandfather starting to smoke a cigarette like it was a thing he always did and that whilst he stopped more than forty years ago. I remember him telling me he was going crazy after asking me the same question for the twentieth time in barely an hour. He knew it was all going downhill, he knew he was a burden to everybody, and that must hurt when you are still that little bit lucid to understand that. I watched several movies about dementia but this one is just the most realistic. It's sad but that's life, everybody should watch it so they can be prepared if the disease ever would hit a loved one.

Anthony refuses to accept any help from his daughter Anne, or any family members, Anthony's confusion increases, he's battling dementia.

A powerhouse performance from Anthony Hopkins, this film is outstanding in almost every avenue. It came as no surprise that Hopkins was chosen for the part, he delivers a stellar performance, you'll feel Anthony's frustrations, hurt, and now and then you'll chuckle with him.

If you know someone with, or have cared for someone that suffers with dementia, you will spot so many of the little signals and quirks here.

This film is so incredibly realised, when you see dementia sufferers on the big screen, you normally get the view point of the friend or loved one affected by it, here you see the effect from the sufferer's point of view.

There's a degree of originality about this film that sets it apart, it is without a doubt, one of the best films from the last two decades.

10/10.

Anthony Hopkins portrays in a fantastic way how life erodes, piece by piece, when dementia takes over an old man's life. Olivia Coleman, who plays his daughter, shows with greatness how painful and sad it is to see her loved father slowly disappear into the fog. The film really grabbed me and tore my heart apart.