I Like It Here

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Wise, funny, and wistful, I Like it Here is nothing less than an appreciation of life itself. As he visits and talks with his children, grandchildren, and lively friends old and new, filmmaker Ralph Arlyck approaches the subject of aging in both serious and humorous ways. Laughing and talking about the unstoppable, often irritating qualities of getting old, Arlyck and his interview subjects also find time to reflect on the reality of dying or being left alone. A running theme among the older interviewees is the lightness that has come after realizing that the rat race to be “successful” is no longer so crucial. A veteran documentarian with more than 50 years of filmmaking experience, Arlyck has a distinctly personal and uniquely essayistic style that meditates on the progression of time by contrasting older footage with new to poignant effect, as in his brilliant 2005 movie, Following Sean. Though it discusses the challenges of feeling your joints and thoughts stiffen, and the many obstacles that loom up in front of anyone who is on the last lap, I Like it Here is not about sadness or regret. Arlyck’s reckoning with the reality we all must eventually face is decidedly life-affirming. He likes it here! (Dir. by Ralph Arlyck, 2022, United States, English, 88min., Not Rated)

Other festivals: Palm Springs