Young At Heart

I’m thrilled at the quality and entertainment value of so many recent documentaries. Young At Heart works on many levels, emotionally, musically, and as a tribute to the “oldies” who are an absolute inspiration with their feistiness, youthful attitude and refusal to succumb to old age. It comes as quite a shock to the audience seeing the Chorus struggle with songs by James Brown, Sonic Youth and Prince. So many of the Chorus members express a preference for classical music and yet here they are battling to master the words and rhythms of some pretty complicated and raucous modern compositions. As well as tracking the concert preparations, the doco also looks at the lives of some of the more colourful members. 93-year-old Eileen Hall is especially delightful, as she still retains a flirtatious style, has all her marbles and is feisty and fun.

Although the director, Stephen Walker, started out to make a film simply dealing with the preparation for the concert, and taking a fairly light-hearted tack, once chorus members began dying the story took an unexpectedly serious turn, and the song lyrics started to be seen in a totally different light. Bob Salvini had retired some years ago from the Chorus struck down by heart disease, but returned to join his old friend, Fred Knittle, in a duet of Coldplay’s “Fix You”. With words like“when you lose something you cannot replace . . . lights will guide you home”, the song takes on an extreme poignancy when Bob suddenly sickens and dies. Similarly, 83-year-old Joe Benoit, who has been battling cancer, also dies during the making of the film.

Many of the songs have a refreshingly new slant when performed by people at the tail end of their lives. Songs like Alain Toussant’s “Yes, We Can Can” (the words of which gave the seniors hell!). Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” all resonate with reflections on mortality, memory and the drive to keep going as long as one can.

As well as standard documentary film techniques there is an added bonus which is seriously entertaining – the making of several pop music video clips featuring the Chorus. Popular perception is that rock video belongs in the realm of the young, but here that perception is overturned with some fabulous versions of “I Wanna Be Sedated”, Golden Years” and “Stayin’ Alive”, all, of course, having a new meaning now that octogenarians have got hold of them. Another moment of that really moved me was when the Chorus is taken to sing at a local jail. As they sing Dylan’s “Forever Young”, tears are in not only the prisoners’ eyes, but also the audience’s.

Viewing this film can only inspire us all, regardless of our age, and encourage us to see growing old in a new light.

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