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      Left on Purpose

      Released Feb 10, 2017 1h 35m Documentary Biography Drama List
      89% 9 Reviews Tomatometer 100% 50+ Ratings Audience Score An aging anti-war activist decides to take his own life as his last political act. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Wonderfully done! Really relevant for those with aging family members and friends. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Left on Purpose is an intriguing and engrossing film. It tells the story of an original yippee who springs a secret on the filmmaker and embroils him in a major life drama. The documentary then invites you to simultaneously rediscover the politically incendiary lives of the yipees while being deeply drawn into the current turmoil of Mayer, the wildly charismatic focus of the film. Justin Schein shines as a deeply soulful and creative directorial force. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautiful film in every way. The sensitivity and patience that Justin Schein displays in approaching this topic is astounding. One of the lasting, timeless effects of a film like this is that no one wants to talk about the fact that they might have a family member who is contemplating ending their lives....but that doesn't make it less crucial for those family members to have to talk. This film offers a conversation starter for all those people who are suffering and those who love them. The heartache and guilt of the family members who struggle with these issues on a day to day basis is one of the last taboos, and this film poetically opens up the doors to a discussion that people are afraid to have. I urge everyone to see this important film. It will continue to be more and more important as more and more people have the privilege of seeing it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member I was at the world premiere of LEFT ON PURPOSE at the Woodstock Film Festival and thrilled when it won the audience award there - the first of many! An indelible film about Mayer Vishner, one of the founders of Yippie movement of the 60s, LEFT ON PURPOSE follows Mayer as he looks back upon the earlier glory days of his life and meets up with many of the people he worked with in the peace movement. Living alone with his cat in a tiny apartment in his beloved Greenwich Village, Mayer tends to his plot in the community garden while struggling with addiction, depression and isolation. It is his relationship with the film's director, Justin Schein, that gives Mayer a renewed sense of energy and purpose, and ultimately leads him to ask Justin to be complicit in his final life choice. LEFT ON PURPOSE is a complex, poignant and often funny exploration of the peace movement of the 60s, mental illness, how society takes care of people who are struggling and the meaning, in the end, of what makes a life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Heartbreaking, beautifully crafted story about human dignity, idealism, hope, and its loss. A fascinating history lesson (that could not be more topical) wrapped inside an incredibly intimate portrait. Justin Schein expertly walks a tightrope, having been personally drawn into the on-camera story that he initially approached in the more standard non-intrusive documentary manner. The result is unique and deeply moving. The ending in particular is handled with such grace and elegance that people in the theater where I saw it were openly weeping. I can recommend no other film I've seen this year so highly. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautifully crafted, powerful and important film about activism, life, death and our responsibility to one another. Searing and urgent, a must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Ben Kenigsberg New York Times Tickets can't come with enough steel wool. Feb 9, 2017 Full Review Serena Donadoni Village Voice An anguished and compassionate chronicle ... Feb 7, 2017 Full Review Alan Scherstuhl Village Voice The ending will gut you, but there are laughs along the way. Jun 14, 2016 Full Review Frederick Blichert The Tyee (British Columbia) Compelling from start to finish, with a charismatic, quirky protagonist and a fascinating look back at the 60s counterculture and the disenchantment of young Americans during the Vietnam War. Feb 13, 2022 Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru Heartbreaking and intimate, but unfocused and lacking in scope. Rated: 6/10 Feb 10, 2017 Full Review Louis Proyect Counterpunch.org Did the retreat of the 60s radicalization ultimately lead to Mayer Vishner's suicide? Depression was also a factor as this deeply moving film indicates. Feb 8, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis An aging anti-war activist decides to take his own life as his last political act.
      Director
      Justin Schein
      Producer
      Doug Liman
      Screenwriter
      Susan Korda
      Distributor
      FilmBuff
      Production Co
      Shadowbox Films Inc.
      Genre
      Documentary, Biography, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 10, 2017, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Feb 10, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 35m