49 Up (2006)

Sadly Over-hyped

A different way of telling a story

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

My 'summary' is something Neil says near the end of the slightly over 2 hour film. In spite of his rocky existence over most of the last 28 or so years, Neil has emerged as perhaps the wisest and most introspective of all the subjects in the "seven" series. Neil is a realist, for example he fairly casually says that if it were not for government programs he would probably have to resort to stealing to survive. Now at 49 he is still active as a Liberal Democrat and has moved away from the city and back into the country. He has been re-certified in his church as a Lay Reader and is seen participating in a small worship service.Now that the subjects are all 49 (actually they are now 56 but I haven't seen the latest film) and we can see them approaching the later years, that will eventually lead to the ends of their lives, it is nice to put the whole series of films in a perspective. There has never been anything like this, the ability at 7-year intervals to see how a somewhat random cross-section of British kids the same age grow into young adulthood then middle age and manage to deal with all the vagaries and carve their own lives. Even happy marriages that end in divorce, sometimes followed by an even happier marriage. The things we know represent real life, and how little control we have of certain things. For those of us who watch, it really is a magical glimpse into growing up and growing older. I found myself wondering how MY film would have looked, had someone done this to me.It is also fascinating how almost without exception the subjects dread each seven years and the next round of interviews, it seems to be a very traumatic experience for most of them. Maybe it is not so much that they have to reveal their lives, but the thought that millions of viewers will see their lives and perhaps "judge" them. I don't judge them, I just find it fascinating how life unfolds and how people always find a way to cope positively with it. The whole series of films, to me, is a testament on how resourceful and resilient we humans are.

49 Up is a continuation of a documentary begun in 1963 with fourteen 7 year olds of various economic backgrounds. Every seven years director Michael Apted catches up with the group (2 have dropped out completely) to discuss their present situation as well as their past. It is a remarkable document to watch unfold.I first discovered the series at Up 28 then back tracked the first three episodes to catch up. Since then each subsequent episode is like having family or friends visit to talk about what's been going on in their life. By 49 all the participants have reached their pinnacle though some still hold onto dreams and while illness and divorce have taken their toll it has not dampened the spirit or drive of any of them. While some at the age of 7 (Peter: "I read the Financial Times")are the men they are today none are in the doldrums of not having turned out different than what they thought they would be. Loyal partners, children and grandchildren have more than buttressed against the disappointments and bumps in the road we all come across as we go through life. This incredibly unique series was begun as England and the world was about to go through a great social metamorphoses. The Beatles, iconoclastic playwright John Osbourne, political assassinations and Viet Nam were beginning to pick up speed. It was the world that was about to be handed to these children in which they would become its caretakers. But thankfully the series skirts the larger political issues and concentrates more on each participants personal journey which makes for a far more intimate and engrossing study. Director Apted (as well as his candid and willing subjects) is to be highly commended for his commitment and perseverance in keeping this 42 year long documentary on the same steady path. In today's shameless society reality TV presents us with self absorbed tattooed and silicone freaks dumb as a post feigning sincerity coached by handlers for maximum shock effect. There isn't an ounce of truth in watching this detritus perform since it is more akin to a carnival freak show then reality. Up 49 and those before it allows the viewer to see the dignity of the common man unfold from childhood to adulthood and beyond in the real and changing world we live without phony fanfare or shocking exhibitionism to juice the content. Told in a straight forward style it showcases human experience in an objective and respectful way without condescension while still asking the tough questions. It is an outstanding achievement and magnificent example of the power of film at its most subtle.

Yes, he did it again! One of the great filmic projects of the 20th Century, Michael Apted's The Up Series, makes its entrée into the new millennium with the seventh bravura installment of its documentary format. Although shown on British television over the last four decades, viewers in other parts of the world have usually had to see it on the big screen, in local arts and independent theaters. Late this year, the DVD of the 49 Up was released in America, just a few weeks after its theatrical release, and it's a worthwhile successor to earlier films. While the series' participants wax bitterly, on occasions, many wax philosophically, displaying one of the series' greatest virtues- showing that the average person is not necessarily as doltish as modern reality television would lead you to believe. Given an opportunity to reflect, average folks can stumble upon real wisdom, rather than the Lowest Common Denominator stupidity that American 'reality' shows like Survivor or Fear Factor highlight. Of course, neither of those shows is reality- they are merely staged gimmick shows. The Up Series is 'real reality,' and no, there won't be a new episode in a week's time to appease the speed addicted MTV mindset. It'll take seven long years before the next entry pulls into port.The series began as the brainchild of the Left Wing ITV television show World In Action, made by Granada Television, which in 1964 sought out typical school children from the lower and upper classes of English life. Back then, the class system in Merry Olde England was noteworthy, as the voice-over intoned, 'The executive and the shop steward of the year 2000 are seven years old,' but by the third installment, 21 Up- in 1978, the lives of these ordinary people took precedence over political posturing, and the series was firmly in control of co-producer Apted- director of The World Is Not Enough, Coal Miner's Daughter, and Gorillas In The Mist, who was merely an assistant on the original Seven Up. The motto of the series has always been the notion espoused by a Jesuit proverb: 'Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man.' That seems to have proved a durable- if not infallible, wisdom….Some viewers and critics feel that this should be the last episode. I disagree, for people like that are injecting a 'purpose' into the films, rather than extracting one out of them. This is often a problem with news coverage in any field. Centuries and eons from now, this series will be a Rosetta Stone- despite the immense tracking of our culture via printed media, films, radio, television, and the Internet, for it was the first one to focus on average people, whatever their backgrounds. These participants will become icons who are studied and debated long after most of their peers are dust; a fact which may explain their reluctance to appear in it, but not excuse it, for the nobler option is almost always to serve the betterment of all. Is a few minutes on screen glimpse into real reality that much of a loathsome burden?By 56 Up, it would not shock me if the first death occurs within the fourteen- I just get a sense of it- perhaps Lynn or Jackie, or perhaps some tragedy, so that sense makes each episode with all of them all the more meaningful. The series, as a whole, and this installment, shows that there is a great nobility in utility, which is best summed up by wisdom that Bruce imparts: 'When dreams go and the day to day living of ordinary life and family life takes over, I think we just sort of live without our dreams.' In what other medium does the offhanded poesy that too much fictive art misses come so vividly to life? Where else do people show off the best in themselves- an ability to cogitate, reason, empathize, and reflect, rather than the worst- their own petty envies and lusts?….The reason why the series touches so many others is precisely because they lack such things as artistic talent or a platform to be seen. If I can be so moved, merely by the memory of watching the earlier installments of this film, I have to believe that most of the participants- whom we all know and refer to by their first names, as they age and wise up a bit more, will see that they, too, have been touched by something greater than anything their lives, alone can signify. And the fact that their touching will last long beyond flesh on flesh is something anyone reading this review, now or in the far future, can be thankful for.

I know that it probably seems pretty silly of me to watch the latest installment before watching the previous ones - and I never really planned to do it like that - but I've watched "49 Up", and I really admired it. All twelve of the interviewees provide strong incite into the present state of affairs. True, Michael Apted has interviewed them so many times that it very likely is getting somewhat intrusive, but I think that we do need documentation of what the world is like every couple of years; I mean, just look at what all's happened in the world (or even in the characters' lives) since 1998.Anyway, I'm now very eager to see the other installments. And I intend to watch them chronologically. I definitely recommend this one.