The earnest documentary is filled with many small moments that are heartfelt.
The Way We Get By (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:22
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: The Way We Get By is a thoughtful, poignant look at some unsung American heroes.
Theatrical Release:Jul 17, 2009 Limited
Synopsis:
The SXSW Special Jury Award winning "The Way We Get By" is a deeply moving film about life and how to live it. Beginning as a seemingly idiosyncratic story about troop greeters - a group of senior...
The SXSW Special Jury Award winning "The Way We Get By" is a deeply moving film about life and how to live it. Beginning as a seemingly idiosyncratic story about troop greeters - a group of senior citizens who gather daily at a small airport to thank American soldiers departing and returning from Iraq, the film quickly turns into a moving, unsettling and compassionate story about aging, loneliness, war and mortality.
When its three subjects aren't at the airport, they wrestle with their own problems: failing health, depression, mounting debt. Joan, a grandmother of eight, has a deep connection to the soldiers she meets. The sanguine Jerry keeps his spirits up even as his personal problems mount. And the veteran Bill, who clearly has trouble taking care of himself, finds himself contemplating his own death. Seeking out the telling detail rather than offering sweeping generalizations, the film carefully builds stories of heartbreak and redemption, reminding us how our culture casts our elders, and too often our soldiers, aside. More important, regardless of your politics, "The Way We Get By" celebrates three unsung heroes who share their love with strangers who need and deserve it. --© Official Site
Director: Aron Gaudet
Director: Aron Gaudet
Producer: Gita Pullapilly
Composer: Zack Martin
Studio: International Film Circuit Inc.
Reviews for The Way We Get By
Both a moving testament to the elderly folks who meet the troops and an interesting look at the troops themselves.
It is straightforward work. Yet over time, it becomes clearly, steadfastly about the existential.
A poignant and lovingly constructed documentary ... and, even though it doesn't wear its politics on its sleeve, it is quite a patriotic picture.
Watching them issue hugs produces an involuntary response. You want to hug them, too.
This is a nice documentary about nice people who are doing a nice thing.
I can't recall when I last noticed such a lovely and distinct color palette used in a documentary...a poetic reflection on man facing his mortality.
These remarkable individuals contribute to a story that is not just indescribably moving but is a timeless metaphor for our country.
A heartfelt, mildly fascinating documentary that lacks sufficient insight to keep you thoroughly intrigued and enlightened.
Contains more useful, homespun philosophizing and genuine sentiment than a year’s worth of narrative films. That it’s so well made is a bonus.
Although it has affecting moments, the film can't quite decide whether it's about aging or about the effects of war on the home front, and its modest scale is more appropriate for TV than the big screen.
The Way We Get By stays focused on the greeters' mix of loneliness and determination, the pleasure of feeling needed and the pain of growing old.
Aron Gaudet's film rages with quiet dignity against the dying of the light.
The Way We Get By is neither pro- nor anti-war; it’s a somber study of perpetually unsettled lives.
Though Aron Gaudet’s documentary never quite captures the relieved atmosphere of these homecomings, it does acknowledge the dark side of a cheery platitude: those on both sides of the divide are in need of healing.
A beautiful, affecting documentary with an appropriately sweet original sound track.
Latest News for The Way We Get By
July 19, 2009:
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July 16, 2009:
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