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Some Kind of Heaven

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Some Kind of Heaven Released Jan 15, 2021 1h 23m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 82 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
With Some Kind of Heaven, first-time feature director Lance Oppenheim cracks the manicured facade of The Villages, America’s largest retirement community -- a massive, self-contained utopia located in Central Florida. Behind the gates of this palm tree-lined fantasyland, Some Kind of Heaven invests in the dreams and desires of a small group of Villages residents -- and one interloper -- who are unable to find happiness within the community’s pre-packaged paradise. With strikingly composed cinematography, this candy-colored documentary offers a tender and surreal look at the never-ending quest for finding meaning and love in life’s final act.
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Some Kind of Heaven

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Critics Consensus

Some Kind of Heaven could have gone deeper into its subject, but it remains a breezily entertaining look at some interesting people.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Kermode Kermode & Mayo's Film Review Strange dystopia and really entertaining... May 24, 2021 Full Review Simran Hans Observer (UK) It'd be easy to mistake the director's deadpan observation for mocking, but the space he holds for the darker aspects of his characters' individual stories helps to puncture any cultivated cutesyness. Rated: 4/5 May 17, 2021 Full Review Deborah Ross The Spectator It is a fascinatingly weird place and the film is worth seeing if only to get a sense of that. May 17, 2021 Full Review Dan Bayer Next Best Picture What's more remarkable is that Oppenheim manages to give the happier scenes a sheen of grotesquerie without making them feel fake. Rated: 7/10 May 13, 2022 Full Review Dominic Corry New Zealand Herald This documentary about America's largest retirement community is a much more wondrous film than the preconceptions elicited by that short description may suggest. Sep 24, 2021 Full Review Paul Whitington Irish Independent [A] winning and funny documentary. Rated: 4/5 Aug 20, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Filmmaker Lance Oppenheim directs a documentary cracking the manicured facade of The Villages with Darren Aronofksy producing. Located in Central Florida it's a massive, self-contained retirement community. Behind the gates of this utopia lie a small group of Villages residents and one interloper who are unable to find happiness within the community's prepackaged paradise. This is supposed to be a place where many of the elderly go to live and not just die. They find happiness, solace, become socially engaging, life-enriching. It's supposed to give you that feeling of youth again. Whether by divorce or someone else passing it is home to 22,000 seniors. You want to be part of the fantasy dressing up in nice outfits etc. There's all kinds of entertainment from golf to bowling to karaoke to tennis to dancing. Sort of Disneyland for old people as it were. But there's a portion of the residents claiming it is not all it's cracked up to be. It's not the real world according to them, it's more like a bubble cut off from the rest of everyplace else. One in particular is Reggie who goes about on the golf courses, practicing a form of mediation and even using drugs to take his mind off things. Another is Martin who is a van dweller going from place to place but is dirt-poor. Yet he's still willing to find a respectable lady as a life-long partner. This documentary is shot in pan-and-scan format to give the viewer that up close and personal point-of-view. We are seeing the community from an aged individual's experience. It's true everyone is on the verge of death. Workaholics want to forget their troubles. Many want to make the most of the time they have left however they can. It's not easy being married and old at the same time. What is truly important the more time passes? This film is wonderfully-filmed, honest, truthful, and kinda surprising in some spots. Oppenheim makes a very well-balanced character study not simply praising seniority or any of the things it comes with, there's a sense of real uneasiness about it all underneath the accommodations and splendors provided. Whether it's one senior or several everyone has trouble adjusting to the next phase in their lives, so as a result they do their own things to get by. Anybody past their prime can still feel fresh when it comes to dating or finding an unexpected love for sports or the arts. But being old isn't the end; it's just that we have to look past the fact that dying is the only thing left for us. Aside from an ending that in my opinion could've been more resolved this documentary does a good job showing how the elderly can still feel fulfilled in many areas when everything else they feel like is done and left behind. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Sandra E A sobering look at the difficulties of life in one's later years. One would hope that a community such as this might mitigate loneliness, but all the characters focused on were incredibly lonely. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/15/24 Full Review mike s I was always curious about The Villages from hearing about it in the news. It's almost fantastical when the movie first shows scenes from it. Once the movie gets into the different character stories, it starts to feel more personal and you feel for the people in it. At times, it's a little hard to keep track of the timeline but I think the production of it is really well done. Very entertaining. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review georgan g Enjoyed the visual play, but not main characters normalcy when in fact, they were no such thing. Communication & good mental health would be the best environment for retired & the young. Pleased to see proud females. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This had nothing to do with the Villages. It's about three odd but boring, people. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member The images, the light, the atmosphere, and the pace of this film is dead on accurate. Having spent time around older people, retied people, and others in Florida (I happen to be almost 73), I found this film to accurately convey the illusionary fiction of 55+ communities down there. Indeed, I hope the filmmaker goes back to the Villages ten years from now, when the dancing, golf, and drinks by the pool, are replaced with wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen canisters. From my experiences, cultural pleasure environments are great, but like all things - they are temporary. The Villages are a time bomb, and it's ticking. I'd like the director to do a third film, showing seniors who continue to live vital, creative, and challenging lives. Believe me, we're out here, and we have no interest in second childhoods. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Some Kind of Heaven

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Movie Info

Synopsis With Some Kind of Heaven, first-time feature director Lance Oppenheim cracks the manicured facade of The Villages, America’s largest retirement community -- a massive, self-contained utopia located in Central Florida. Behind the gates of this palm tree-lined fantasyland, Some Kind of Heaven invests in the dreams and desires of a small group of Villages residents -- and one interloper -- who are unable to find happiness within the community’s pre-packaged paradise. With strikingly composed cinematography, this candy-colored documentary offers a tender and surreal look at the never-ending quest for finding meaning and love in life’s final act.
Director
Lance Oppenheim
Producer
Darren Aronofsky, Jeffrey Soros, Simon Horsman, Kathleen Lingo, Melissa Oppenheim, Pacho Velez, Lance Oppenheim
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
The New York Times, 30West, Protozoa Pictures, Los Angeles Media Fund
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 15, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 15, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$43.5K
Runtime
1h 23m
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