Some Kind of Heaven
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. 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. With strikingly composed cinematography, this candy-colored documentary offers a tender and surreal look at the never-ending quest for finding meaning and love in life’s final act.
Well made but very depressing @ATLMovieGuy
I was hoping to learn more about this strange place and all the crazy activities that I hear go on there, but instead we are introduced to the strangest 4 people, might I say losers and follow them around for 1.2 hours. You leave feeling better about your self and a ‘that could never happen to me in retirement’ thinking but wake up later in a cold sweat scared to death that it could happen to any of us.
mildly entertaining, but a bit unfair @BMann44
So I rented this thinking it would give me some added insight into a community I have heard plenty about over the years. The documentary is certainly well produced, but if I were a resident of the Villages, I imagine I would feel that they put one over on the community. Despite just about everyone else in the movie seemingly pretty overjoyed to be there, they chose to follow three groups of people that frankly seem to be the oddballs. Of course there are going to be problems and disappointments. Dont want to rant too long, but movie left me mildy entertained as i had nothing beeter to do for 90 minutes, but I wouldnt really recommend.
Some Kind of Heaven @B-Kara
A number of years ago, Disney opened a “planned community” in Florida called Celebration; which didn’t quite work out as planned and Disney eventually cut their losses and sold Celebration off. I was expecting this documentary to focus on “The Villages”, which seemed to me like Celebration for seniors, and on steroids. Instead, it focused on the trials of a lonely widow, a couple of dysfunctional couples, and what was basically a wannabe gigolo living out of his camper van. It wasn’t a BAD movie, but rather than focus on “the Villages” (for better or for worse), its main interest was on these individuals; who could have been living anywhere in the country. It was only incidental that they were all located within the compound of the Villages. Frankly, I was disappointed...
Depressing @Hitman 500
I gave it two stars because I really don’t know the reason or point of the documentary . . . unless it is to depress you. I thought it would be a documentary about the Villages and interesting stories or profiles of people. What it ended up being was a movie that followed the stories of several people in very depressing situations that left me wondering what the point was for the movie. And there was no update or conclusion at the end - very unsatisfying.
Had higher expectations @Ddrabs
The subject community and the people profiled could have yielded a much richer story but it seemed like just a drive-by on Interstate 75. Frankly, the people profiled and their stories could have played out virtually anywhere in America so the setting of The Villages seemed somewhat irrelevant to the story. The opportunity was here for a much better film.