It always sucks when a documentary with such a fascinating subject chooses to not tell it any interesting way. That said, Some Kind of Heaven is nooothing like that.

This is playful and introspective in all the right ways. But so bleak too. I like to brush off the misery in this as a “you’re in Florida” thing but it’s made pretty clear this is universally felt.  A lot like Squidville, ya know?

I loved this. Florida is a truly absurdist state, but it is uniquely over-simplified with the “Florida Man” dumb ass dumb unfunny novelty napkin bullshit you all dispel!!! YOU! This movie is a much keener examination into the uncanny but undeniably human energy that haunts this swamp.

A hell of a drug watching this in Central Florida with my Floridian parents a year or so away from retirement. Dad kept going to his phone to give us facts about The Villages (“nine dog parks”) to avoid the labor of emotional engagement. Mom, who has a handful of friends living in The Villages, related a concerning amount to the troubled wife, Anne. They both said they’d have liked to have seen the film focus on a more normal couple living in the villages who are having a nice time. They just want to have a nice time!

I just don’t want to die alone

I came out of retirement to edit this movie so I sure hope people like it

both comforting and unsettling in equal measure, and gorgeously shot so those feelings were amplified even more. i didn’t know much about this strange florida community until checking this out and it packs a lot of interesting information in while thankfully staying super personable instead of overwhelming and cold. the last act slowed down a bit too much for me, but the ending definitely made up for it

This is your grandma’s life

Documentaries should be considered for more cinematography and original score prizes. Editing too. This was stellar. Poignant and thought-provoking and fun. My first great 2021 film.

a glorious utopia so gorgeously shot that it makes it easy to assume its residents can’t possibly have any worries... but what lance does so well is how he captures these people’s stories and shine a light through the cracks of this dreamland, revealing the loneliness and hardships faced within it... i think it’s safe to say that i’ve never seen anything quite like this

sorry to all the other movies bc this is the best one

The only thing I disliked was that out of an entire town seniors it only chose to follow four people and was rather short. There are probably so many interesting stories to be found there.

Wait, was this a scripted documentary?

The gigolo/drifter dude absolutely agreed to be in the doc as a way to reach more prospective ladies.

Wow.

Not quite sure where to start with this one.

You know, "Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets" really messed me up because now every time I see an incredible documentary it makes me second guess its authenticity.

I only give this 4.5 instead of a 5 because it was too good, the 'story' was way too well done, there had to be some direction given to the people to be this good.

A grim or happy reminder of mortality, depending on how you look at it.

Oh, and on top of that, it was beautifully shot. The framing of the shots reminded me of a Larry Clark or Harmony Korine film.

This will be on my list of favorite films of 2021.

Fantastic score & directing (Lance Oppenheim is only 25 somehow?!) also he focuses on phenomenal characters and their relationships..... funny, bizarre, heartbreaking, existential. “What I think about dying is there’s just less time. When you get older you start thinking - wow my life is not just an indeterminate length of time anymore. What is really important?”

not gonna lie, if I found myself retired and still living in America, The Villages in central Florida seem like they would be a great time.

that said, I thought this was a lot of fun. the storylines of the central characters were well selected (Reggie’s drug use/detoriating sense of reality and how it affects his marriage with Anne; Dennis, the bachelor on the run and his search for a sugar-mama; widow Barbara along her search for love.)

David Bolen’s digital 4:3 cinematography of a colorful and lively Florida is gorgeous, so much so that it that genuinely rivals analog film.

So good this felt like one big sad and beautiful soap opera

ok but seriously how did they find that guy

Incredible shock value but was lacking some depth. Also could’ve been longer.

Lance Oppenheim’s documentary is a vivid portrait of the Florida retirement center known as The Villages. The cinematography is top notch for a doc, and the film contains one of the best, most tense, courtroom scenes in all of cinema.

If Wes Anderson made a documentary...

Seriously... Why does this movie look better than most movies? And why does it seem more fantastical than most movies?