Customer Reviews

The Way We Get By

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw this movie when it was playing in New York City and have anxiously awaited it's arrival on DVD. After one viewing I knew it was a "must-have" for my, or anyone's home collection. The film starts out as a sweet story about a group of elderly citizens at an airport in Maine who greet our military personnel as they deploy to and head home from the war overseas. One of the main characters friendly yell of "WELCOME HOME HEROS!" is often the first thing soldiers hear when they return to US soil. We are quickly and effectively introduced to three of the greeters. Bill, Joan, and Jerry are revealed as caring, likable, yet complex characters. The filmmakers many talents are evident throughout this beautifully shot documentary. Skilled camera work, combined with a compelling story are the foundation. However, the greatest gift the filmmaker's provide is the amazing access they gain, not just into their characters homes and lives but more importantly into their psyches. Like many great films this movie transports us to a time and place that few of us have ever seen. Life over 65 has never been examined in such truthful detail. Intimate conversations about love, loss and fear are revealed with remarkably genuine honesty. These heartfelt and profound discussions are unlike anything I have ever seen on film (documentary or fiction). This unflinching look at the elderly in our country is raw, even uncomfortable at times, but each character also brings a sense of humor, and an unwavering will to live that is truly inspirational. The film never turns preachy, yet I felt truly enlightened by the example set by these three unassuming heros. This movie defies the normal stereotypical film descriptions, but see it and you'll immediately know it's a "must-see" for anyone who appreciates great films as well their fellow human beings.

As a side note: the filmmakers spoke at the screening I was at in NYC and this film was in large part a self-funded, self-distributed project. It is truly an independent production, that found an audience because of their tireless efforts, word of mouth and the incredible quality of the film. Buy it, watch it, and you'll thank me later (by also helping to spread the word).

The Way We Get By The Way We Get By

Real Americans in 'The Way We Get By'
By Dan Zak
Washington Post Staff Writer Published-Friday, Oct. 2, 2009

Their first contact with U.S. soil is the single asphalt runway at Bangor International Airport in Maine. The first citizen they see is often Bill Knight, posture stooped, pushing 90, wearing his World War II veteran cap, pumping the hand of every service member who deplanes after tours of Iraq or Afghanistan. Knight, troop greeter at this gateway airport, is one of three senior citizens who are profiled, challenged and honored by "The Way We Get By," a lyrical documentary guaranteed to jerk tears and tug hearts over and over during its tight, haikulike 86 minutes.

No one comes home in a body bag. There are no dusty dispatches from Baghdad or Helmand province. There are no protests. There is no rhetoric. It's not that kind of war documentary. "The Way We Get By" is about three people, not about military or political combat. It strikes a deep, rich vein of emotion that flows through America's elderly, and it should be required viewing for those who think they know exactly what America is about.

Bill Knight, Joan Gaudet and Jerry Mundy (average age: 78) are dream subjects for a documentarian. They have the right mix of sass and wisdom and are naturals in front of a camera. They greet military transport planes that land at the airport, sometimes arriving at 4 a.m. with bright smiles and warm hugs, and they grapple with the rubs of old age at home. Knight, a widower with cancer, staves off a creeping loneliness in a farmhouse overrun with cats and empty cans of Alpo. Gaudet has an aggressive pill regimen that combats her back pain but saps her energy. Mundy, whose closest friend is his dog, has never gotten over the long-ago death of a 10-year-old son.

Despite these ailments, they go about the business of helping others, inadvertently deploying life lessons in a Mainer's chalky accent and making sure servicemen and women (750,000 since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom) are greeted, thanked and given a chance to call home on a donated cellphone. They're such great characters, it's almost possible to forget they're real people living real lives.

"The Way We Get By" sidesteps easy sentiment and eyeballs something deeper and more primal than patriotism. More than anything else, Knight, Gaudet and Mundy are seeking a reason to live. Even in the latter decades of life, they search daily for meaning, for purpose. They only want to be good citizens. They want to be useful, in whatever way they can. They don't grouse. They don't overthink. They do. They are models of simple utility.

Such quiet devotion might seem sappy if trusted to the wrong storyteller, but filmmakers Aron Gaudet (Joan's son) and Gita Pullapilly aren't out to canonize their subjects or comment on war. Instead, they map the tricky emotional territory around mortality. "The Way We Get By" is as much art as it is documentary. It is atmospheric, with useful cutaway shots to ice floes and lilacs, with scenes cast in slanted winter light, with closeups of gnarled hands and wrinkled, tired faces. There is a cyclical movement in this perfectly titled documentary. It skims the surface at first and slowly circles deeper, finding a poetic echo in Knight's own military service, sharing in Mundy's evolving grief, watching Gaudet learn to say goodbye instead of "welcome home."

"The Way We Get By" is not so much a slice of life as the whole pie, the highs and lows of twilight living, all found and filmed in a terminal at an airport in Maine. What a country.

The Way We Get By paints a stunning portrait of three older people who have selflessly donated so much of their time, day and night, over the last six or more years to greeting soldiers returning home from serving overseas. They sometimes have to say farewell to troops leaving for war-torn areas as well. On a deeper level, however, the film meaningfully explores the universal issues of mortality and aging; this makes the picture a standout because many of us, understandably, don't always think as much about these things as we should. After all, it can be painful to deal with mortality, aging and war, but this film doesn't hurt feelings the way it might have if it had been in less capable hands. Director/writer Aron Gaudet sensitively and brilliantly deals with these themes in this film; and that's wonderful. The story line of this documentary will move you greatly as it moved me; and I cannot help but admire the magnificent way in which we get to get to know the three senior citizens who have volunteered to meet and greet the troops at the airport in Bangor, Maine. In addition, the cinematography works great and the flow of the film is just right; the editing couldn't have been better.

Specifically, the three seniors we meet and come to know are Joan Gaudet, William Knight and Gerald Mundy. Joan, an elderly widow, retains a feisty personality. Despite her having to take seventeen pills a day of prescription medication, we see Joan driving to the Bangor airport at all hours of the day or night and she scarcely ever complains. William, a rather lonesome elderly man who misses his late wife as well as his time in the military, also routinely makes it to the airport despite his cancer. Gerald also feels quite alone, especially after his dog dies, and his dedication to their project of greeting the troops is remarkable.

Of course, there's much more to know about these three people, their interactions with the troops and this story in general than what I've written here. It may seem as if I've given too much away; but I haven't. I don't want to spoil it for you.

The DVD comes with a brief section of production notes and a list of honors and awards it won after it was released. The film received sixteen honors and awards--outstanding! I would have liked a director's commentary but the film is just so well done and memorable that I can overlook this.

The Way We Get By is one of the most sensitive, poignant and insightful films to date concerning the emotional issues of war, mortality and aging. I highly recommend this documentary.

What an amazing movie. Full of inspiration and important messages.

As a nation we need to begin valuing our older citizens and giving them a way to utilize their wisdom, compassion and indomitable strength and we should never, ever forget to honor our men and women in the service for the tremendous sacrifices that they have made.

I agree with the reviewer who says that this should be required viewing in middle and high schools.

made me cry, even though I'm a dude.

these guys welcomed my brother-in-law back from Iraq.

the group gives these "old war horses" something meaningful to do, and it clearly means a lot to the returning soldiers.

instead of coming back from war to a sterile airport, these guys provide a patriotic, happy, carnival atmospher that lets the returnees truly realize that they are home!!

I purchased two of these DVD's as Christmas gifts - and was able to watch it myself. These three people do such awesome work. It is a "feel good" movie although I cried at times. Proud to be a native Mainer!!!

Everyone should see this movie. All Middle and High Scholl students should be required to watch this documentary. The lives of the senior citizens in Bangor, ME are enriched and enhanced by their simple act of kindness and respect that they show for the soldiers of this country. I only wish that some of our politicians showed the same level of respect ot our troops.

I could only watch a minute of the dvd, borrowed from our local library. Neither I (age 78)nor my wife (74) could continue to comfortably watch it, unfortunately, for the subject reason. Kind of an irrational production for us old-timers, especially since the "stars" were old folks! The rating is only applicable for caption-impaired folks, none other.

The small town of Bangor, Maine is the possessor of surprising asset: as the easternmost international airport in the US, its freakishly long (2+ mile), wide runway and location on the "Great Circle Route" have made it the entree-way for waves of returning US troops. For many of these servicemen and women, it's a shock for them to touch down there at odd hours and - instead of getting the sleepy stopover they anticipated - be greeted by a raucous, cheering crowd welcoming their return.

Who are the people lining these halls? That's the question that 'The Way We Get By' seeks to answer. Shown on PBS as part of the POV series, this brilliant film from co-producers Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet packs an unexpected emotional punch.

The producers were working in TV at different mid-west stations when they were introduced by mutual friends who knew that the two had both expressed interest in making documentaries. While searching around for material, Gaudet slowly became aware of his mother's new-found passion for troop-greeting. Over the years, Joan Gaudet has developed a fear of going out after dark due to a knee operation and reliance on a walker. Suddenly, her troop-greeting responsibilities were driving her to spring out of bed and race to the airport at 2 AM. Producers Gaudet and Pullapilly (now husband and wife) looked at each other and realized they had their story right in front of them.

The producers found the halls filled with similar stories - troop-greeting as "the way we get by"...whether it be Joan Gaudet's empty nest, Bill Knight's cancer and debt concerns, or Jerry Mundy's wistful remembrances of his son's death and the recent death of a close friend. What connects the three is their abject loneliness...and the camaraderie and sense of purpose that the group brings to them.

Never stooping to melodrama or mawkishness, Gaudet and Pullapilly bring you into these three lives in a compelling way. It's a fascinating tale well-deserving of its Emmy nomination.

this dvd is lovely. the people are real, not snobs or self impressed, they are sweet, giving, caring, strong people. i have never met them but i really like them. people of Bangor- your the best!!!!!!!!