The Way We Get By

Product Description Award-winning film, The Way We Get By, is a deeply moving story 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. Awards include: WINNER - SXSW Special Jury Award WINNER - Full Frame Audience Award WINNER - Best Documentary Phoenix Film Fest WINNER - Best Documentary Atlanta Film Fest WINNER - Best Documentary Newport Intl. Film Fest WINNER - Audience Award Newport Intl. Film Fest WINNER - Best Documentary Little Rock Film Fest WINNER - Standing Up Cleveland Intl. Film Fest. WINNER - Audience Award Camden Film Festival Review SXSW 2009: 10 Films To Put On Your Schedule Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com / WGN Radio - I absolutely loved this film... Someday video stores and online rental sites may have their own sections dedicated to films about the current conflict in Iraq. Hopefully the veterans of this current quagmire will be able to find happier memories and things to look forward to on their DVD shelves rather than just another reminder of where they've been. Unless that movie happens to be Aron Gaudet's The Way We Get By as its just the kind of reminder our men and women over there could use. It's the story of a group of senior citizens from Bangor, Maine who spend many mornings and evenings going to the airport to shake the hands of the departing and returning soldiers from Iraq. Bangor's airway serves as our main passageway between the U.S. and Middle East and these well-wishers keep track of every one of them and do whatever they can to provide a little bit of homespun hope on their long journey. Bill Knight, Joan Gaudet and Jerry Mundy are just three of the subjects that should be given immediate sainthood by the time the credits roll; seniors who are far from their own problems involving foreclosure, health and, in the case of Miss Gaudet, a granddaughter facing her own trip into this mess. Can it possibly be selfish to provide a little bit of good cheer to those who mostly remain nameless to anyone outside their circle of friends and family unless they return with an American flag draped over them? Every selfless act is going to make someone feel good, but where The Way We Get By becomes more than just a meet-and-greet for self-gratification is within the contrast of its subjects against the finality we hope is coming later rather than sooner. Just as our service folk unfortunately become, the elderly are another group of people that society and even our government would just as easily forget about if they weren't reminded of their struggles. Bill Knight is not just another lonely greeter but also a veteran of war himself. Joan faces the unnerving fear of her granddaughter not having a chance to be welcomed back. Jerry Mundy has already seen his son die tragically and may be facing death again soon. These remarkable individuals contribute to a story that is not just indescribably moving but is a timeless metaphor for our country. I absolutely loved this film and I'm hoping that when you're done wiping away the tears and the Q&A has finished, each of you will have a chance to see some of these people on the way out and shake their hands. --Erik Childress, WGN Radio Chris Barsanti, The Hollywood Reporter It's the deep well of compassion behind it that helps make The Way We Get By such a stirring experience. In its heartfelt portrayal of three seniors who stave off their own mortality by steadfastly and cheerfully greeting every plane of returning soldiers landing at their small-town airport, Aron Gaudet's film rages with quiet dignity against the dying of the light. With Hollywood dramas doing their best to ignore the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the stream of non-fiction films having dried up to a trickle, films like Aron Gaudet's wrenching, The Way We Get By, are even more important than they otherwise would be. This isn't to say that Gaudet's documentary has even a hint of an eat-your-broccoli lecture to it-that couldn't be
ASIN: B002QBL2NU
VSKU: DBV.B002QBL2NU.A
Condition: Acceptable
Author/Artist:Aron Gaudet|William Knight|Gerald Mundy|Joan Gaudet
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case will show wear, and may be in library packaging. Ships fast!