An elderly woman, Lee Gorewitz, in the throes of Alzheimer’s, is the subject of this quiet documentary. Gorewitz lives at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville, California with 19 other Alzheimer's and dementia patients in the Traditions Unit. From what we can see as the camera follows her daily routines, Gorewitz is easily the most active member of the community. While the other women sit passively or get caught up in music therapy, Gorewitz is always on the move, haunting a hallway full of patient rooms (sometimes even going into those rooms) or circling fellow patients and talking to them. She’s also fond of hanging around a locked entrance-exit door, tracking the comings and goings of nurse aides, and looking like she would bolt given a chance.
All of this speaks well of a feistiness that underscores her individuality, even as Alzheimer’s profoundly robs her of the ability to think or speak coherently, remember her identity and family history, and track what is happening or being said at any moment. Filmmaker Scott Kirschenbaum finds many moments between and during Gorewitz’s wanderings when she has a lot to say, though none of it makes literal sense.
There are, however, numerous times when Gorewitz inadvertently speaks in a kind of dazzling poetry that, while emblematic of her random word salads, resonates a bit in the imagination. About her marriage? “The air was very good.” Life wisdom? "The world is something that one does not know that much enough.” Family life? “The wind and snow hurry around the corner.” One can’t help but feel glad to know Gorewitz, though it is also sad that we can’t know who she was before the disease struck.
Nor is there anyone to tell us about that: Kirschenbaum eschews interviews with relatives or doctors or anyone else who can detract from the unvarnished portrait of a memorable senior. Gorewitz displays emotions freely, seeming bright and joyous in one moment, sad and despairing in another. It takes a while to see a point or shape to Kirschebaum’s film, but then Gorewitz provides those with her emerging humanity. Strongly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, H, C, P.