49 Up Review
I've read about this series for years but just never got around to watching any of them. The first film was made in 1964 and was titled 7 Up. It featured a group of seven- year old English school children from different schools, locations and social classes. (Some were from public schools and some were from private schools, which leads to ongoing confusion for me since in England a public school is what we would call a private school and vice versa.)
Apted was 22 years old when he made the first film, and he thought it would be a one time project. But he continued to make a film every seven years, featuring the same people profiled in the first film (though some have dropped out of the project over the years).
49 Up is the film I watched, and it features footage from all the projects made through the years (7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, and 42 Up). One of the subjects of the films, John, wonders if the whole thing is just an elaborate exercise in reality TV, but it certainly is much more.
The film captures the idealism of childhood that is often crushed by the realities of the world. It is interesting to see how the filmmaker also had preconceptions that are crushed through the years in much the same way.
In the first film Apted quotes the Jesuits who said, "Show me a boy at seven I give you the man." Some of the children make predictions about their lives that are uncannily accurate (Andrew, for instance, at seven years old predicts the schools he will attend and his profession as a solicitor). But some of the kids defy expectations. Some kids from broken homes fear relationships, but go on to build good marriages and become good parents. Some make foolish mistakes and spoil their childhood dreams and potential.
One interesting theme is the importance of one's roots as an adult. Nick leaves England and moves to the States. The filmmakers take him back to his homeland for this edition of the film. The landscape of the country of his youth was the cold and harsh moors of northern England. He says he does not miss this land but then, when he sees it, he is moved. He says that other locations seem insignificant in comparison.
Most of the subjects talk about how painful it can be to have their lives captured on film every seven years and have it broadcast (on the BBC as well as in the movie theaters) for millions to see. Jackie brings up the unfair nature of a filmmaker's option to pick and choose the segments of their interviews he will use, and feels that she and others have been treated unfairly. Suzy tells Apted she believes 49 will be her last time to participate.
The films remind me of the moment in Annie Hall when children in a classroom stand up and say what they will do in their later lives (one elementary school student in that film stands and says, "I will become a heroin addict and die of an overdose".)
When we look at children, we don't like to think about the trials they will inevitably face in the years to come. But we also can't conceive of the wonderful things they will do in the future.
One of the kids, John, at seven is a child of privilege who talks with his friends about how good it is that his school is expensive, because otherwise poor children would flood in and his classes would be too crowded. You think this kid will grow to be one of the upper class twits so successfully lampooned by Monty Python. To a degree, you'd be right. He goes on to be a barrister who looks quite a bit like Mr. Bean.
But there is more to his story. He was drawn to the woman he married by a shared concern for the poor in the Eastern Europe. The reason he continues to do the film series is to draw attention to the educational and medical needs in Bulgaria.
John is not alone. We see other children grow to be very good men and women who care for their families and for the needs of the less fortunate.
The most poignant segment of the film is about Neil, a bright young kid whose life takes some nasty turns. As a teen, he says he doubts there is a God. At seven, he had dreams of college and career, but he later drops out of school and has trouble finding work. He becomes homeless and admits to questioning his own sanity. In 35 Up, one might have questioned whether the man will even be alive in the next film. But in 49 Up we see a very different man. Little is said about religion in the segments on most of the characters, but Neil in this film has found Jesus. And it has made all the difference in the world.
49 Up came out in 2006. I would now like to see six other films. And I'm looking forward to 2013.
Starting in 1964 with Seven Up, The UP Series has explored this Jesuit maxim. The original concept was to interview 14 children from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, renowned director Michael Apted, a researcher for Seven Up, has been back to talk to them, examining the progression of their lives. From cab driver Tony to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the heart-breaking Neil, as they turn 49 more life-changing decisions and surprising developments are revealed. An extraordinary look at the structure of life in the 20th century, The UP Series is, according to critic Roger Ebert, "an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium. Apted penetrates to the central mystery of life."
