Posted 11/15/21
Whoever has ears, let them hear.- Matthew 11:15
Prediction from neither a prophet nor the son of one: This week is going to be thin on the blog front. I am looking at my calendar and know my limitations. Next week, expect a robust return, not unlike Rocky IV before fight number two…but Ivan Drago is going to kick my American Flag wearing butt this week. I go Thursday and Friday to continue my longitudinal clinical study and, while I am very much looking forward to it, my 5 day week is being pinched off into a 3 day one.
Today I just want to point you to two media looks at aging and dementia that I have soaked in lately The first is a movie and the second a foreign language series:
I wish I could explain this movie to you in advance, but it would ruin it. It is not a spoiler to say that dementia is deeply involved. How it plays out is something I would love to share but can’t. It is not a Christian film. There are objectionable parts…some that may annoy you too. However, throw out the bones and eat the meat…there is sooo much amazing about this film. Anthony Hopkins is absolutely at his best in this film…better than Silence of the Lambs, in my opinion. It is happy, it is deadly sad, and everything in between. Honestly, though, its depiction of dementia gives me the same chills as C.S. Lewis when he wrote about the devil and his minions in The Screwtape Letters. Bull’s eye. This may be available to stream as part of a service. I paid $6.99 on Google Play when it first came out and don’t regret it. It is a robust 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (and left me wondering who the 2% were that disagreed…). Will it leave you with warm fuzzies? Nope. But it is amazing…great acting, very suspenseful…to me, scarier than Silence of the Lambs and it certainly wouldn’t be considered a horror movie.
I am only three episodes into this series, but so far I am in love. It is so wholesome and sweet and the filming is beautiful. The music and effects are great, the characters are interesting and lovable/detestable. Cliff’s notes without spoiling much: a 70 year old, chubby and stiff man, seeing friends retire/die/alone, decides to live out a childhood dream: to become a ballet dancer and dance Swan Lake in front of a large audience. Dementia plays in, but it isn’t the whole of the show. It is on Netflix and has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, if that matters to you. If I am reading the reviews correctly, it is extremely highly rated in South Korea too. Will the subtitles annoy you? I suppose…but they are worth every moment.
#EndALZ
Update: Nothing new on mom. I hope to see her tomorrow morning and much more soon because of this:
https://katv.com/news/coronavirus/nursing-homes-can-now-lift-most-covid-restrictions-on-visits
However, I am also quite concerned about this:
https://www.ky3.com/2021/11/13/missouri-let-nursing-homes-close-due-vaccine-mandate/
Will we have the old freedom to visit again untethered as mandated? Or will they close? Sigh…we shall find out…and countless Missouri and other seniors are waiting to see.