Customer Reviews

35 Up [VHS]

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4 star:		(1)
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A fascinating insight into the real lives of several ordinairy British people over a span of 28 years - from age 7 to age 35. This documentary attempts to prove the premise that you can "show me the boy at seven - and I will show you the man". A classic, insightful look at the impact of Britain's social and educational systems on the lives of ordinairy British people.

As one who was born and raised in England for 27 years, I saw the characters as startingly close to many of my own childhood and young adult experiences. One of the characters is so painfully close to some of my own early experiences, this documentary drew me into a serious state of introspection. It served as a powerful reminder to me of why I so love England - and why I'm so glad I no longer live there.

A powerful documentary, it reveals both the incredible simplicity and complexity of ordinairy people. Despite its focus on British people and their society, this documentary will have universal appeal - certainly many of my American friends seem to have found it equally engrossing.

The premise is simple, and has a sort of 60s naivete about it. Choose a group of British schoolkids from various socio-economic backgrounds, and follow them every seven years. The fifth installment, 35 Up, catches the group as they enter mid-life. The interspersing of the interviews from the earlier ages of the kids' lives (also documented in 7 Up, etc.) is extremely effective. These are genuinely interesting people, and if they do not quite serve as "emblems" of the class-based culture of the UK that might have been originally envisioned, nonetheless Apted is able to drive home a number of interesting points about the effect of background upon one's life. This is a fascinating, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking set of vignettes from the life of a gaggle of people. It's altogether a welcome relief from the MTV "Real Life" or "Survivor" brand of "real life" film-making. The film series has moved on to "42 Up", but 35 Up is a must see nonetheless.

This is the second episode available on video (though actually the fifth in the entire series -- see my review and the other info on "28 Up") of Michael Apted's incredible experiment: to follow a handful of English individuals through life by taking a "video snapshot" of them every 7 years.

Some have divorced. Some have still not married. Symon, who seemed so stable and good-natured in "28 Up," is nowhere to be seen, although he will turn up again in "42 Up." John, one of the upper-class toffs who came off so amusingly haughty at 7, comes back into the game and reveals a side we had not guessed before (although he speaks of the "bitter pellet of poison" the individuals in this series have to take every seven years).

Neil, the homeless (and obviously mentally unstable) man in "28 Up" who was so articulate about the stakes even though he couldn't seem to hold it together enough to sustain a job, apparently came across as some sort of "guru of free thought" and reports getting contacts from all sorts of people who wanted him to give them the answer. He performs in amateur theatricals and manages a semblance of stability while remaining on welfare.

Director Apted quietly poses questions from off-camera, sometimes pushes his "friend-subjects" a little, and they bravely continue to reveal themselves to us, to the world ... to the infinite future. One both envies them for having such a record in hand, and thanks one's stars that no one has turned such bright lights on our lives.

Life is not perfect skin and fulfilled dreams. Only sometimes such perfection is the truth of everyday life. Much of life is failure, a distancing from the perfection of childhood, as this film shows us.

Excellent film, a document of life. Though of course there are prejudices in this film, and though it deals only with English born subjects, I believe there is universal appeal. What is fulfillment? What is satisfaction? What is failure and despair? Why does man exist? These are the unavoidable questions you will think of upon watching the development of these different, but connected, lives.

I first came on the series with "28 Up" which was truly amazing for an American to see. Interspersing clips from "7 Up," "14 Up," & "21 Up" made it incredible to see the changes. In particular, Suzi, a nervous chain-smoking wreck at 21 was a happy calm mother at 28. All, in fact (with one sad exception) seemed incredibly content with their lots--I was reminded of 1984 for some reason. "35 Up" doesn't have quite the contrasts with its predecessors. It's wonderful to see that, for the most part, all have progressed nicely in their lives. (And I've always wondered why no one snapped Bruce up!) One interesting omission from this one is Peter--he's nowhere to be seen (& disappointingly, Symon doesn't participate). The haunting figure, again, is Neil. He's a seriously troubled individual, trying hard to cope with mental illness in an unsympathetic world. The questions coming at him from off camera are almost cruel--& his facial reactions to them are heartbreaking. It's quite a contrast to the contentment of the others.

If you've never seen this series before, it's definitely worth watching!

You probably already know what this film is about. I watched "28 Up" and was very impressed, this film is even better. The directer Micheal Apted asks the subjects the same types of questions he asked in "28 Up", but this time the questions seem more unrestricted almost to the point of sounding vicious. Again, we see some interesting changes take place in the people. Some have divorced, some of the marriages are on the rocks, some have relatives die and some have more uncertainty than they had seven years ago regarding their future. Bruce, the Oxford trained math teacher still hasn't married and is living in a third world country. I have a sneeking suspicion that he may have become a muslim; there is a scene of a boy reading the opening muslim prayer but it's not clear whether or not Bruce was praying with him.

Quite a few subjects are brought to tears when discussing family and one has discovered that they have a potentially serious condition which may require surgery.

Neil, an articulate college dropout raised in the suburbs who became homeless has become my favorite subject. The man is a survivor but obviously having a very hard time. He is almost brought to tears with some of the questions and appears worse off than he was at 28. He says some very profound things worth pondering on.

All of the subjects in this film with the exception of Neil and Bruce seem to follow a fairly predictable pattern but are still interesting to listen to see how some of their views have changed over the years.

Perhaps the most telling indictment of class struggles in the world, is this installment-plan documentary by Michael ("The World Is Not Enough") Apted that started out in the early 60's as a BBC special in which a group of 7-year-olds from varying socio-economic backgrounds were asked simple-but-telling questions about their plans, dreams, and hopes for their adult futures. Apted has returned every seven years to talk to the kids again, at 14, 21, 28, and by now even 42, but 35 seems to be "The Bitter Years." Promise yet unfulfilled is the order of the day here... at least for the non-rich kids.