Develiker
terrible... so disappointed.
Derry Herrera
Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Scott Daley
The discovery that music, when carefully selected for and played to individual dementia patents, can bring them out of their depressed stupor, and/or calm them down when agitated -- is simply profound.The documentary is very professional and does a fine job of illuminating this new and major movement throughout the "rest homes" of the world -- one which even eliminates the need for a rest home in some cases.If you were afraid to see yet another "depressing account" of the state of our elderly -- don't be! This is anything but depressing (for the most part) as it demonstrates what is possibly the greatest (and mostly hidden) wealth within each of our minds: music.Seems that a sense of and remembrance of music is one of the last things to go in our brains when we age. Not only is the music shown to be enjoyable by elderly, but, as shown succinctly in this film, the right music can unlock many other memories, leading to an obvious joy of heart.Watch it and be truly amazed, even crying with joy.
bruno_zao
"Alive Inside", written and directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett. Following the 2014's films on degenerative diseases came this impressive documentary. Unlike medical drugs, the power that the sounds have in our brains and especially when produced with proportion, line, rhythm and all those assumptions of geometry that turn into development and therapy. Almost nothing is known about the real causes but the effects of music are more than obvious, hence all poetic speeches that are made happily around since we are still at the stage of believing and not of knowing. A revolution is about to happen, any day, a revelation. It is touching and I was unable to give less than 10 in 10.
george.schmidt
ALIVE INSIDE (2014) **** Docufilmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett's look at one man's crusade to incorporate music therapy to the aged in nursing homes in America focuses on Dan Cohen, founder of a non-prof organization Music & Memory, details the struggles in finding funding and donors for his life-altering miraculous exercise in tapping into the neglected elderly who are afflicted with Alzheimer's and dementia among others who have lost the capacity to retain identity. The footage of wizened, nearly comatose patients and residents responding to the simple application of a headset with music is astounding to say the least. Joyfully inspirational, heart warming (and breaking) the film's seemingly easy efforts to awaken the human spirit (and for them to remember) is startling just as it is in the fact that it has not been overwhelmingly accepted (but the baby steps are paying off finally). You are simply made of stone if you are not driven to tears while smiling in spite of them. One of the year's best films and a must see.
Pamela Powell
ALIVE INSIDE: A STORY OF MUSIC AND MEMORY is a scientifically emotional film about our basic abilities as humans: communication and connections. Over a three year period, filmmaker Michael Rosatto-Bennett followed Dan Cohen as he visited various nursing facilities. What takes place on the screen seems almost impossible. It is truly magical. Patients with little connection to people and their environment, some with no recognition of their own adult children, put a set of headphones on, plug into an iPod programmed with songs of their generation and PRESTO! they come to life. They talk about what they are listening to; they reminisce about the time period; and they talk about their feelings. But most importantly, they are connected to people. With music, they come back to the world around them and are living again.I know this sounds like magic, but neurology actually supports this observation. With the disease of dementia, the hippocampus or memory area of our brains, is affected. It looks a bit like a bunch of spider webs throwing off the pathways in our brain, making it impossible for proper connections to take place. But music memory isn't stored here. Music reaches all the different areas of our brain and stimulates synapses or fireworks of communication so that we "wake up!" Music touches us all on so many different levels, and Dan Cohen with his endeavors has helped to bring life back into these older folks who had given up and recoiled within themselves.We baby-boomers will be inhabiting this earth, growing exponentially over the next 2 decades. Don't we want to help our own parents age more gracefully as well as set the precedent for our own care in the coming years? See this film and empower yourself.
