56 Up

Personally, I would strongly suggest watching the films in order. While "56 Up" does provide some recaps, the cumulative effect of the series is built by watching each age in depth.

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 56 (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), and by nature the later episodes sometimes have to speed through more than would be ideal,since they have to both catch the audience back up as well as moving the stories forward, no matter. 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 the first film, 7 Up, was actually directed by Paul Almond, and Apted was a that point a researcher for the project.

This new episode is as excellent as it's predecessors, revealing more surprising twists in turns as our group heads towards the end of mid-life, and stare into the realities of old age. Some old friends re-appear, some have continued in directions they had been going in, and some have changed course yet again.

One thing that's interesting, and more present in this episode than earlier ones are some of the subjects questioning the objectivity and 'reality' of the series. There are interesting cases made that what we, the audience, sees isn't the truth of who these people are, but only a created character. It also (by proxy) makes one reflect on how much being in these films has affected the lives of the participants. Just as in physics, it seems to be true here as well, that the very act of being observed changes what is being observed.

All fascinating and thought-provoking stuff.

Peter is back! (He hasn't appeared since 28 Up) I know he's here in some large part to promote his band, but I'd rather have something like that where it's more creative and artistic than when John appeared in 35 just to promote his wife's charity (gosh that felt like the closest this series got to a minor scandal haha). The other great surprise here is Suzanne and Nick together (not romantically but still!) That was really wonderful to see them come together for this, and such lively and candid conversation.

Perhaps it can't be helped by the time you get to the eighth of these films, but there is so much Archival footage by this point from the previous entries that it probably does weigh the new scenes by like 40/60. That is a fairly minor complaint though given the scope of how life's changes are now about the next generations and the younger subjects do a lot to emphasize what is the same/different about the men and women who are still taking part in this (and all but like one or two are still here).

I'm also struck by something Michael Apted said to Roger Ebert in an interview back in 2006 around the time of 49 Up, which is that politics, or just points of view when it comes to how life itself and relationships have political dimensions, come out in the choices that are made about what to do with a life, financially speaking and also with a life in work or retirement (or in Jackie's case on disability).

The financial crash of 2008 also still hangs over at least a couple of the participants, and there is a comment (though think about how much Apted chose to show or leave out) about how far to the right the country has gone in the years since the 60s and 70s and you can see how a framework that keeps people working, keeps people in a system (or who are still doing manual labor like Symon) and then those who can break free of those systems make this really engaging. Even Andrew talking about global warming, though what's great is that this doesn't come with Apted pushing some agenda or something. The reality of what everyone is dealing with speaks for itself (and there's a revelation about John that... how did we not know this till now?! Dead parent!)

What's so special about these films is how much Apted has direct and simple questions that have to do with what being 56 is like, and in the scope of the series up until this point and how the personal and larger macro sense of what this series has meant is in a deeper philosophical sense. 56 Up isn't quite my favorite entry in the Ups, but that's more of a personal quibble (I also kind of wish Apted had kept to the sort of structure of who he was presenting since he stuck to showing like Tony first and Neil last and now it's sort of reversed for seemingly no good reason), but it need not matter much when the interviews are still so revealing and frank and Apted keep it being this great thoughtful gift for the audience intact.

My reaction to Peter, in other words, seems like I am reacting to a return of a comic book character in a Marvel movie, but that's the level of intimate connection that the series has done so well.

The gang is back under the directions of Michael Apted. They are now closing in on old age. Everybody is looking back rather than looking forward. Sure they look forward for their kids, but not anymore for themselves. Peter has finally return to the series, but it's only a taste. He's only giving the highlights but mostly he wants to promote his band. He still isn't completely open especially about his first marriage. That is still better than Charles who is still absent.

The question is starting to creep in on what will happen to this series if one of them pass or maybe if Michael Apted pass. This raises the question of what the future episode will look like. It will probably feel like talking to my parents and the older generations about their aches and pains. Everybody will be comparing their medical health. The part I want to see now is Michael Apted on camera. He's getting up there in age and it would be nice to see the group talk to him as an equal before it's too late.

The "Up" documentary series comprises what is surely the most impressive longitudinal study ever committed to film. It is an obvious labor of love for director Michael Apted, who has remained faithful to the project - and to its participants - for close to fifty years now.

It all began in 1964, when producers at Britain's Granada Television gathered together a group of seven-year-olds from all walks of life and interviewed them for a TV documentary entitled "7Up," focused on the hopes and aspirations of these youngsters as they embarked on a long but uncertain journey into the future. Every seven years since, like clockwork, Apted has gone back to these individuals to take a peek into their lives, examining the paths they've taken and juxtaposing those youthful aspirations expressed in the original film with the realities of their lives as they've played themselves out. (The stunning contrast between the grainy black-and-white imagery of the first film and the hi- def clarity of the current interviews underlines the extraordinary length of time the series has already covered).

In "56Up," the eighth installment in the series, its subjects are leaving the confidence and security and general good health of middle age and just beginning to confront the realities of impending old age and contemplating an array of end-of-life issues (if not for themselves yet, at least for their parents). And it is for this reason that "56Up" is one of the most poignant and insightful entries in the series (and one imagines it will only get more poignant and insightful with each successive edition). All the major issues of marriage/divorce, career and parenthood seem to have long ago been settled for most of them, as they now concentrate on their roles as grandparents and life guides for their own adult children as they embark on their own lives and families. There's less naïve hope expressed in this film and more of an acceptance of how life has turned out for the participants, though there is a marked lack of cynicism and pessimism in the way they speak about their lives. Of course, they're still young enough at this point to be physically active and fully engaged in their careers and their communities, but there's no denying that the prospect of that fast- approaching downward slope of life is weighing, at least to some degree, on these people's minds. Yet, even those who haven't yet achieved their "ideal" lives still haven't given up hope that they will one day find what it is they're looking for. For obvious reasons, it is this installment that most comprehensively captures the range of a lifetime, at least until "63Up," "70Up," etc., arrive on the scene in the lead-up to the foreordained conclusion of the series.

It's clear from watching this jumble of clips from eight distinct periods of time that each stage of life contains a set of joys and concerns unique unto itself, a universal truth that this series, by its very nature, seems singularly equipped to illustrate. It's a bit like thumbing through - an admittedly disorganized - family photo album, but with insightful commentary from the individuals involved inserted along the way.

One, perhaps unforeseen, thread that runs through this film involves the self-reflection on the part of some of the participants about their appearance in the series - the sometimes unwelcome notoriety it has brought to them and their lives, with at least one of them pulling out of the project for a time only to reconnect with it at this stage, after having come to terms with himself and grown confident in his own skin. A few even question the very value of the series itself, feeling that these brief glimpses into their lives every seven years fail to create anything close to a true portrait of their lives and of themselves as people - a concern that Apted deserves much credit for including in his final product. After all, these people, at seven years of age, did not exactly ask to become a part of this much-viewed series, and why SHOULD they want to be defined and represented by it? On the other hand, as one of the participants points out, the series really isn't about these particular individuals as much as it is about how, collectively, they serve as a sort of mirror in which the rest of us can see our own lives reflected.

Yet, something indefinable and intangible keeps many of them coming back every seven years to open up and share at least a small part of their lives with us. And for that the world shall be eternally grateful. Now onto the next installment.

I saw this documentary spread out over three episodes on SBS TV over here. Perhaps it is the new medium which makes me think that this latest installment is the best in the series. Somehow it seems more lucid and to the point. Given that my memory of the cinema released earlier installments of this series isn't fresh, I'll just have to take on trust that this superiority in quality is real and not imagined. It's my impression that the organisation of these subjects' stories is more logically presented in any case. It just coheres better.

Being the 8th instalment in this series, you have to wonder if the 'experiment' has run its course...it must surely have 'proven' what it set out to achieve...to determine how class effects people's life chances in England. These subjects are now 56 years old (obviously) and we already know how their life unfolded...many movies ago. The director of this series, Michael Apted, is also getting on in years and you have to wonder if he will be around in another seven years to do another one of these documentaries...or if his health will be sufficient.

Each episode I saw of 56 Up on SBS had 3 or 4 subjects the featured people of that episode (I saw this documentary late last year, so it's not fresh in my memory...going on notes here). I did in fact wonder whether I had missed a previous movie in this series (which I'm not sure is the case) because at least one of the subjects did not ring a bell for me (looking at the Wikipedia entry for the "56 Up", I think that that may in fact have been Peter). However, the series is notorious for various subjects not turning up in a later movie, in seven years time (some subjects I think have never reappeared after 14 Up). If there were subjects from 7 Up missing, they were not mentioned, unfortunately (a mention of their last appearance and the reason/s given for them refusing to participate in future documentaries would have been good). Since each new documentary often recaps the subject's appearance in some/all previous "Up" documentaries, it's not strictly necessary to watch them all in order...but it might be nice to check out where it all began, "7 Up" (the concept for the series being the old Jesuit saying "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man". The idea being that these formative first seven years will determine the adult).

Some things which interested me:

* If there was any reason to have another instalment in this series, for me it would be to find out how Jackie fares...in 56 Up she has rheumatoid arthritis and gets dropped from a social security benefit on the basis that she can still work. Like a soap opera, I want to know "What happens to her?". In this documentary she is relying on financial assistance from her son, I think.

* Director/interviewer Michael Apted is more the centre of attention in this episode at times...he wonders aloud to Tony if he (Tony) is racist. Tony doesn't like that one bit!

* John, a barrister, makes a good point about the series portraying his success as an inevitable part of his background (i.e. class) but he does make a good point about how fragile his background was and how his life could have crashed around him had it not been for his mother's perseverance. Such contextual information was not presented in the earlier documentaries, which suggests that the series was ignoring counter-factual evidence to its premise that class determines life outcomes.

* Sue was an interesting case. By Australian standards, her rise to being an administrator at a university would suggest social mobility. She has working class roots, I think. The way that Sue describes it, she is not doing so well. I'm curious as to whether this is indicative of the squeeze on the middle class these last few years or merely her spending habits. I'm pretty sure that someone in her position over here would be considered middle class, at least...upper middle class, in fact. I'm not suggesting that she is a spendthrift...I have no idea...just wondering if it is a possibility though...as in she thinks she is poor because she is a consumerist.

* Suzy is also interesting in this documentary, from memory. I think it is her who tells Apted that she feels a certain perverse sense of loyalty to the series...like it's a potboiler, but she feels a sense of duty to it, or something like that. In other words, she doesn't feel as if the "Up" series is some sort of important social documentary.

* The "Up" series has a musical sting (very dramatic brass riff) which reminds me of the Australian TV police drama "Homicide".

* Just btb, I was curious about a scene they included from "7 Up"...I think it involved Bruce...at the party, I think, or maybe the playground...it almost looks like he takes out another boy's eye (almost!)...or perhaps he was the victim. Looked dangerous in any case!

* I wasn't sure if all of Jackie's friends from 7 Up were in this documentary and I suspect that the more casual boy who was friends with John and his fellow 'posh' subjects was missing from this latest instalment too.

* Peter's return seems to be merely to promote his band! Apparently they are quite successful in their own way in England. It's this guy who I don't think I knew who the Hell he was!