By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Michael Apted
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2006
Running time: 115
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473434/
Bruce says: “Tony is a kid from the East End, once a rough-and-tumble section of London, now home to many immigrants from Africa and Asia. Jackie, Sue and Lynn hail from similar backgrounds. Simon and Paul were living in a children’s home when the series began. Nick was from a farm in the North Country. Paul and Neil are products of the middle class. Susan is from a wealthy family but is a product of a broken home. John, Andrew and Charles are public school kids who had their sights set on Oxford and Cambridge from infancy.
“For those of you who have followed the magnificent ‘Seven Up’ series, 49 UP is bound to be a treat. For those of you who have not followed the series (SEVEN UP!, SEVEN PLUS SEVEN, 21, 28 UP, 35 UP and 42: FORTY TWO UP), which tracks the lives of its thirteen participants at seven year intervals beginning at age seven, I would encourage you to start from the beginning. Should viewing seven films be too large a commitment, rest assured it is possible to see 49 UP without viewing the earlier
films. Portions of each of the earlier films are edited into the each segment.
“Certainly the series has now achieved iconic status for documentary filmmaking. Personally, I think that 49 UP is better than its six predecessors. While missing some of the surprise turns of the earlier films, this film is better edited than some of the others and is also more satisfying in a visceral sense. This is human architecture on display. For forty two years we have watched a bunch of building blocks being laid. Now the buildings are finished. Many crises have been resolved to get there
and, in some cases, the finished product is not exactly what we envisioned.
”The series is a product of serendipity. According to Michael Apted, who has been involved in the project since its inception and has directed all but SEVEN UP! – the first film in the series – there was never an intent to do more than the original film. Six years after SEVEN UP! a producer suggested he revisit the kids; the rest is history. Co-producer Claire Lewis, involved in the series since 28 UP, does most of the research. Lewis feels that the series is a tribute to the fortitude of the human spirit. She admits that many of those involved in the series have become an extended family over the years. Apted observes that the relationship he has with the participants has changed since the difference between his age and that of the participants has become less significant as time passes.
“Some modern critics have likened the series to a reality show. Such a thought makes the filmmakers bristle. The participants have never been under contract and the only scripted part is the bringing together of participants as part of the adventure.
“Apted has no regrets about the series but openly admits wishing the original group had more ethnic diversity and more female participants. He is angry that Charles dropped out of the series after 21. Ironically, Charles is a documentary filmmaker. The opening lines of SEVEN UP! are ‘Give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man.’ That Jesuit saying is difficult to refute after traveling with this group from ages seven to forty nine. The dialogue of seven year olds can be portentous indeed. The SEVEN UP! series reminds us of our own lives, how rapidly they change, how our dreams materialize or vanish, and how
quickly time passes. 5 Cats
“49 UP was screened at the 2006 New York Film Festival; Michael Apted and Claire Lewis were present for Q & A as was surprise guest, Tony Walker, one of the participants.”