Young @ Heart

This film caught me completely by surprise, and in a delightful way. I went with low expectations, and it captivated me with its many charms.

Originally done as a documentary for the BBC, and now released for a U.S. market,the film follows, in almost Christopher Guest mockumentary fashion, a group of senior citizens in Massachusetts who perform together as a chorus known as Young @ Heart. Make no mistake, this is no amateur operation. These folks have toured the capitals of Europe and played for heads of state. Ranging from their 70's into their 90's, the talented singers rehearse frequently under the tutelage of their leader, Bob Climan, who at 53 is a relative youngster. OK, they sing, and they sing well, but it isn't that which catches the uninitiated off-guard. It's their repertoire, complete with songs by Coldplay, Sonic Youth, U2, Sting, and plenty of standards from the 70's that Bob introduces to their octogenarian world.

When the chorus was first founded years ago, it included some veterans of both World Wars. Now, it still has World War II vets, but as the film shows, they are one by one exiting the group for the great beyond, an occupational hazard of having aging performers. But, as they note on camera, the show must, and should, always go on.

I defy anyone to go to this film and not be touched and deeply moved. I defy you to go and not find yourself smiling broadly through most of it, and wiping away a tear moments later. Some of it is predictable, but it does end up being highly energizing. The scenes of the chorus performing for a prison population shortly after learning of the death of one of its members is especially poignant, as is what is arguably the climax of the film, the unforgettable performance of Coldplay's "Fix You" near the end.

The film is interspersed with surreal music video-type segments of the chorus members performing in off-stage settings.

These people are life changing, and the energy they have, and share, is infectious. Go see the film.