Who wouldn’t want to know the secret to becoming the oldest person in the world? A seemingly must-watch documentary.
And yet, even after a decade of following the oldest folks on the planet, The Oldest Person in the World does not enlighten. It feels instead like a drawn-out version of those 60-second news clips that announce the world’s newest oldest person; we hear the news, someone asks a couple of unanswerable questions, we hear unsatisfying answers, we move on.
A funny thing is that the director/narrator recognizes this emptiness relatively early in the movie, and so, tries to be thoughtful about what to do next. Of course, they start thinking about their own mortality.
This is a natural reaction, and it’s hard not to sympathize when the moviemaker shares some of his feelings and life story. But after a while, a question floats to the surface: Is this all there is?
The answer is, unfortunately, yes. Although the journey begins with a good-natured question about how to live a fruitful life, it is above all else a forced montage of musings that are neither original nor poignant.
I hope creating this has helped its makers cherish life a bit more, but the true mystery and wonder and fullness of life would be found better by living and contemplating it ourselves.