The Mayor

I'm not sure what I was anticipating from The Mayor. I guess I was expecting to laugh at some old folks saying some silly things and then go home, entertained. I did laugh, in actuality, very much, but there's so much more to it than that. The Mayor is deeply moving and thought provoking. It makes you consider what's important in life, what it will be like to take care of an aging loved one, and what it will be like to become elderly yourself. When it's funny, it is side-splitting. When it's touching, it does more than bring tears to your eyes. This film moves something deep within and makes for great conversation. Highly recommended!

I must admit that, given the subject matter of 'The Mayor,' I was quite hesitant to see it. I just couldn't imagine that a documentary about the life of elderly people in a convalescent home would be entertaining. I couldn't have been more wrong. 'The Mayor' is an artful and captivating work exploring the lives of the elderly. The film maker gets up close and intimate with the subjects, all the while maintaining the tact, respect and reverence they so deserve. This film will change your perception of the elderly and on life in general, while reassuring you that you too could be living it up well into your 80s and 90s. Jared Scheib has launched his film career with nothing less than excellence and I look forward to his future projects.

I saw this last night at our Erie Art Museum's Wednesday night film series. From the trailer, I was prepared for a funny movie about an elderly horn dog chasing the widows around the cafeteria. What I saw was a funny, touching glimpse into a side of a retirement home where cameras rarely visit.

These were actual, genuine people, not roughly drawn caricatures. Most had flaws, and no attempt was made to gloss over them. It turned into a view into the personalities of the (non) actors, and had me wondering how they had to come to be there, in, as Sam said, "This, to me, is paradise. Paradise" Quite a far cry from the comedy I had expected. If you have the chance, I highly recommend it.

And did you notice that the director Jared Scheib is only 26 years young? And remember, this movie was made about four years ago? Remarkable.

The sole reason for my not giving the full 10 score is that I wish it were longer than 58 minutes. I would enjoy a longer look at these rapidly fading marvels, and admire their fascinating lives.

Just had a chance to catch this documentary at the Lone Star International Film Festival and was completely blown away! Whereas many documentaries might exploit real people in order to create an intriguing story, this film lets the characters' authenticity drive the story to hilarious, eye-opening, and heart-breaking conclusions. The Mayor's title character, Sam Berger, proves that living in a nursing home can be everything but boring, and that living your life to the fullest will keep you young. The whole cast of characters that live in this nursing home are engaging and entertaining.

I never thought that a nursing home could be so interesting of a subject, and this documentary demonstrates otherwise.

Easily one of the best docs I have seen in recent years, and I believe it will go on to bigger and better things. Highly recommended. 10/10

This excellent, moving, even inspirational film by Jared Scheib rocked me in an unexpected quiet quarter. I had imagined a depiction of a brash, rollicking larger-than-life character, king of his old-age home, and instead got a portrait of a genial, philosophic man (Sam Berger) in his late 80's and an entrée into a human world inside the home, which seemed to house about 40 individuals, which revealed a sub-culture and continuing process of life I had never seen.

Scheib's movie is the best depiction I've ever seen of the actual lives of very old people, lived apart from society. Provoking the oldsters with questions about sex, he achieves an amazing rapport with them and an output of personal information that showed me – well, life as we know it just "goes on" til it stops. I mean, some people are in wheelchairs, the ambulance and hearse show up at the front door all the time, and the residents and their cheerful "Mayor" just keep up living their confined lives to the fullest. What else can they (we) do?

My grandparents certainly never discussed their sex lives, their petty quarrels, and the eternal human search for love - with me. Most active, younger people simply do not want to know what goes on in these quarters where folks who are simply too old to function in society live together. Why? It's scary for us, this "old age and death" thing. Also the old folks are not active players we can rely on or relate to. We mostly want to know: "Is Grandma (pa) OK?" and that's sufficient.

Scheib knocks down the barriers of convention. He achieves an entrance into this arcane world through his now-deceased grandmother Dorothy, herself a stalwart, intellectually clear character who makes a great counter-point to the easy-going Sam, the "Mayor." We watch the course of a touching romance Sam has with another home-dweller. As perhaps "comic relief," Scheib also expertly interposes an elderly married couple who are constantly sniping at each other. We see this is their affectionate routine, maybe their survival. All the characters are fully rendered due to his easy, open relationship with them as subjects.

This innovative film is supported by terrific cinematography and editing, also by Scheib, a recent USC film graduate. All the visual images were satisfying and clear. I left the theatre thinking not only had I learned a great deal I hadn't know about (ahem) life – but also that I'd seen a dynamic, revealing, very modern movie.