First-time feature director Lance Oppenheim cracks the manicured façade of The Villages, America’s largest retirement community - a massive, self-contained utopia located in Central Florida. “Younger friends are my secret.”. ... widow Barbara Lochiatto and bachelor Dennis … 1:34 0. Oppenheim’s film, which does not make you want to move to The Villages, is, at its core, asking how well that set of choices really plays out in your later years. And it loses its president. The subjects in the documentary say they like that state of affairs but their lives as presented here bespeak otherwise. There are plenty of lonely seniors in traditional villages. Some Kind Of Heaven: Reggie's Training. A resident of The Villages in Florida in "Some Kind of Heaven," a new documentary about the retirement community and aging. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys Women's History Month STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events Which brings me back to Sahlins and another of his creeds. Some Kind of Heaven (1,509) 1 h 22 min 2021 NR. Columns are opinion content that reflect the views of the writers. “Some Kind of Heaven,” a documentary co-produced by The New York Times, pierces the bubble of The Villages, a Florida retirement community northwest of Orlando that has grown to the size of a … And he told me. “You are members of a highly privileged group,” he told the graduates, after telling them they were unlikely to get rich as artists and creative individuals. Susan Granger’s review of “Some Kind of Heaven” (Magnolia Pictures) First-time documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim travels along the pristine, palm-tree-lined streets of The Villages in central Florida, America’s largest retirement community (approx. Now Playing: Some Kind Of Heaven: Dennis's Life. There are no irritating children running around The Villages. Credits: Directed by Lance Oppenheim, with Dennis Dean, Anne Kincer, Reggie Kincer and Barbara Lochiatto. The film, directed by Lance Oppenheim, is both riveting and depressing. If you’ve worked a job all your working life, you’re surely entitled to some fun and you should be free to define that for yourself. Magnificent even as its characters struggle to find grace in their golden years, “Some Kind of Heaven” was truly one of the major discoveries out of last year’s Sundance Film Festival and with the film now making its way out to virtual cinemas, Oppenheim spoke about how he created something so insightful and massively entertaining, adjusting to what the film was telling him it wanted to be and … I made some mental notes for the future. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, Inside the battle to save the most endangered river in the country, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars sets speed record in third flight. Life is complex and we’re all different, of course. Dennis Dean,Star of New Movie Filmed at the Villages in Florida. There are thousands of organized activities and clubs, including one in which all the members are named Elaine. There is also a smack of both ageism and intellectual elitism to the film, the story of ordinary, middle-class snowbirds who typically worked hard during their lives, and yet a documentary coproduced by the New York Times and the work of a young graduate of Harvard University. The well-meaning people of The Villages, mostly friendly folk with times on their hands and voids to fill, were surely an easy target for a visitor with such an artistic eye for the latest application of American Gothic, so willing and able to discern and expose their vulnerabilities. The most amusing, perhaps even surreal portions of Oppenheim’s film have to do with everyday life in The Villages, described as “Disney World for retirees” for its fake Spanish-colonial backstory, carefully engineered to mask the fact that The Villages only came into existence in the 1980s. Some Kind Of Heaven: Reggie's Training. 2:09 0. Sometimes parked on the property or slightly outside the (unsecured) gates, Dennis is on the prowl for a Sugar Mama. Why not look for a filmmaker who actually lived there? 0:12 0. The film leaves you with a picture of a community out of intergenerational whack, a parody of the model so common elsewhere in the world where seniors occupy valued places inside multi-age communities, offering advice and support to whippersnappers and, in return, able to count on the care of their neighbors and families as needed. Does not the Times otherwise continually advocate for communities telling their own stories? And yet it is hard not to sometimes be reminded of the Villager’s outburst in a film with such a startling lack of diversity. That — along with cultivating a whole bunch of young friends who can keep you on your toes — seems to me a pretty good prescription for a happy life, although it really does often take a village. A video clip of the incident was shared on Twitter (and later deleted) by the president himself. It’s a documentary that highlights almost nothing, in particular, it doesn’t call for the change of an institution or the end of an empirical reign. Shortly afterward, I ended up on a flight between Chicago and New York drinking a cocktail with a stranger, a nonagenarian, pioneering female architect. Some Kind of Heaven was supposed to be a short Op-Doc doubling as Oppenheim’s college thesis. ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ is special. SOME KIND OF HEAVEN (Magnolia Pictures) (NR) ***1/2 out of **** ... Dennis is an 80-something guy with a high opinion of himself living out of a van. Surrounding yourself entirely with people your own age has only superficial advantages. Some Kind Of Heaven: Working Out. And we’re all aware these days of life’s brevity and the unfairness of the battles with health that can take over our being, or that of someone we love. Who is anyone to judge? “You are able to make your life and work one.”. "Some Kind of Heaven " is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Lance Oppenheim. Summary: MORE TRAILERS AND CLIPS (16) 2:09 0. That’s the question posed by “ Some Kind of Heaven,” a documentary about life in The Villages, the world’s largest retirement community, near Orlando, Fla. With 120,000 residents, The … At The Villages, often called the "Disneyland for Retirees", we meet four residents living on the margins, striving to find happiness. 0:23 0. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video … The shadow of that unpleasantness — in a community that is 98.3 percent White and where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1 — hardly darkens the poignant and at times wry new documentary “Some Kind of Heaven,” which looks at the search for love in a planned community where 80 percent of the residents are over 65. Barbara Lochiatto is a lonely widow who moved from Massachusetts to The Villages several years ago, and who strikes up a courtship with golf cart salesman and Jimmy Buffett disciple Lynn Henry. “Some Kind of Heaven,” Lance Oppenheim’s feature documentary debut, examines the meticulously crafted suburban bliss of The Villages, a self-described “Disneyworld for … For 18 months, between 2018 and 2019, filmmaker Lance Oppenheim spent time in the community, gaining access to the intimacies of Florida’s friendliest hometown. 1:34 0. Culture Representation: Taking place in the retirement community of The Villages, Florida, the documentary “Some Kind of Heaven” features an all-white group of mostly senior citizens who live in The Villages, with a few people of color shown who are non-residential employees. Column: Broadway’s capitalist model isn’t perfect, but here’s why it works, and what can be fixed. Older people don’t need to prolong their youth by acting like nothing had changed; they enjoy the respect they have earned. Sahlins, especially, was on my mind as I watched “Some Kind of Heaven,” the documentary (both in theaters and on Amazon Prime and other streaming services) about The Villages, the huge retirement community in Central Florida with a fast-growing population in excess of 100,000. Sahlins, who died in 2013 at the age of 90 and even provoked a rare appearance from Bill Murray at his spectacular memorial service, was a serial entrepreneur and comedic innovator who was directing shows and consulting all over the globe, well into his late 80s. Now Playing: Some Kind Of Heaven: Dennis The Van Man. He replied to my inquiry with his usual intensity, pushing his face close to mine. Unrated. Some Kind Of Heaven: Working Out. Available at afisilver.afi.com; also at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema One Loudoun. Dennis Dean, Self: Some Kind of Heaven. The star of “Some Kind of Heaven” may be Dennis Dean, a smooth-talking 81-year-old playboy and interloper who lives in a blue van that he parks in … 180,000), often promoted as … Summary: MORE TRAILERS AND CLIPS (15) 2:05 0. Then there are the Kincers, Anne and Reggie, whose marriage of 47 years is threatened when Reggie’s recreational drug use gets him in trouble with the law, even as he seems to be sliding into dementia. Chicago announces Arts 77, a huge increase in arts funding, with $60 million for artists, concerts and new public art at O’Hare, Ask Amy: Chronic depression is constant topic. He wants security, he says in Some Kind of Heaven, Lance Oppenheim’s new documentary about Florida’s strangest enclave. 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. It gently but firmly makes its case that the utopian, “over-55″ development hides profound sadness and loneliness among its tricked-out golf carts trucking through its manicured town centers, its margarita nights and yacht-rock concerts, its church services and synchronized-swimming classes. Some Kind Of Heaven tends to be bittersweet and inconclusive instead: Just because Barbara makes a connection with a fellow single doesn’t mean that romance is a sure thing. Dennis Dean is a subject in "Some Kind of Heaven," a new documentary about the Florida retirement community The Villages and aging. Nearly everyone on camera is White (though thanks to frequent sunbathing, the skin color of many of the film’s participants is closer to that of toasted almonds). Finally, there’s Dennis Dean, a somewhat sleazy, 81-year-old California playboy who is living out of his van as he looks for a wealthy woman in The Villages to move in with. 2:31 0. 0:23 0. It’s apt enough that “Some Kind of Heaven” stays within that bubble, offering an immersive if incomplete experience — after all, our protagonists are … Review ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ 4 stars. 83 minutes. Behind the gates of a palm tree-lined fantasyland, four residents of America's largest retirement community, The Villages, FL, strive to find solace and meaning. But the film deepens and grows more thoughtful — and, yes, sad — as its spotlight on the need for human connection — at any age — comes into focus. If “Heaven” had just stuck with the bizarro, it would have made a nice, perhaps even Oscar-worthy short film. Real villages (as distinct from The Villages) have worked for hundreds of years as human communities precisely because they are made up of youth and elders, those on the edges and those in the middle, all learning from and enjoying friendship with each other. Dennis’s story takes a surprising turn, midway through the movie, lending the film a bit of drama. With Dennis Dean, Lynn Henry, Anne Kincer, Reggie Kincer. Contains some strong language and drug use. The last time the population of The Villages was examined with any scrutiny was this past summer, when a rally by residents of the central Florida retirement community in support of President Trump made headlines, after a participant in a parade of golf carts was heard to angrily shout, “White power” at a group of counterprotesters. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. His documentary, Some Kind of Heaven, offers a glimpse into the lives of four retirees living out their golden years at the Villages. In a famous 2006 commencement speech at Columbia College of Chicago, he talked of the importance of having not a job but a vocation or a calling. Some Kind Of Heaven. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. But after spending 15 days in the Villages, he realized this story needed to be a … The starring cast includes Dennis Dean, Lynn Henry, Anne Kincer, Reggie Kincer and Gary Schwartz.. Second City fires its night staff and looks to outsource, causing a painful rift. Bachelor Dennis Dean poses as a resident of The Villages but actually lives in his van. I once asked Bernie Sahlins, the co-founder and former owner of the Chicago comedy theater known as Second City, to explain his secret for professional and personal longevity. 0:12 0. Some Kind Of Heaven: Relaxing. His goal: to find a wealthy female resident of the community to care for him. While most residents have bought into the community's packaged positivity, married couple Anne and Reggie wrestle with Reggie’s deteriorating grip on reality and psychedelic drug use; Barbara, a widow, seeks second love; and Dennis, an 82-year-old ba… From synchronized swimming to pickleball, the good life is waiting, as well as a discounted funeral package now at a new, lower price. “I have a lot of young friends,” he said. Some Kind Of Heaven: Relaxing. [ Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures ] Some Kind of Heaven director Lance Oppenheim said that … Some Kind Of Heaven: Dennis's Life. Retirees navigate love and romance in the poignant documentary ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ Michael O'Sullivan 1/12/2021. ... Anne and Reggie Kincer, Dennis Dean, Barbara Lochiatto Genres Documentary, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages English. The feature debut of Lance Oppenheim, “Heaven” follows four subjects, three of whom are Villagers, over the course of several months. The stories of the four people at its center show Villagers to be more than statistics. But that is a side of itself that the newspaper does not so easily confront. Dennis Dean is a subject in "Some Kind of Heaven," a new documentary about the Florida retirement community The Villages and aging. And no doubt some people at The Villages are perfectly happy, living out their years in the Florida sunshine, far from a documentarian’s gaze. She told me that while many of her friends had died, she had been determined to replace them with friendships with the children of her friends. Robert Browning promised that old age would be "the last of life for which the first is made." Some Kind of Heaven effortlessly blends humor and pathos into a memorable and at times unsettling study on where life’s trajectory might land … Baby boomers, who have fueled the recent growth of The Villages, in general led far more sensual lives than their parents, experimenting far more freely with drugs, sex and hedonism and often fighting off previous generations’ notions of dignified aging. Here are "Some Kind of Heaven" movie trailer, plot summary, full cast and characters, release date and everything we know so far.. Trailer Is there a trailer for Some Kind of Heaven movie? Lance Oppenheim's documentary "Some Kind of Heaven" looks at life in the massive Florida retirement community known as the Villages. Dennis Dean in a scene from "Some Kind of Heaven." All that said, Oppenheim still makes Sahlin’s case as well as I have seen it made since Bernie made his grand exit. Directed by Lance Oppenheim. 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