Educational Media Reviews Online

Sage is a film about aging, and the creative energies of people who are what the psychologist Abraham Maslow defined as “self-actualized”. The filmmaker, Nicole Brodsky, conducts interviews with a small number of men and women of varied racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds; they are all 80 plus years of age. She has constructed her film around the answers these “sages” gave to questions she asked them about their experiences with aging and creativity. Remarkably, none of the people interviewed seemed to have any significant medical, social or psychological problems; they appear to be successful people who continue to thrive and have rich emotional and intellectual lives. They are all charming and articulate; this is aging in its finest form. One of these sages, Julia Child, makes a cameo appearance, and it was really fun to see and hear her talking, albeit briefly, about her experiences with aging.

The film’s subtopic is the rewards of volunteering and community involvement; all of the people interviewed talked about the importance of meaningful, creative activity. Many of them volunteer or participate in community organizations, including some national programs, i.e.: the Foster Grandparent Program and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). So, this film may be helpful in working with people preparing to retire, or used by programs educating people about the rewards of volunteering.

Sage is useful as a work presenting the best side of aging, and Brodsky does nothing to put the aging experience of these people in context with their cohort. So, this film would be useful for educators as a “compare and contrast” to the negative aspects of aging. Technically the audio quality is adequate, and the video quality is good. There is little action; for much of the film the sages talk into the camera, and there are a lot of still shots of family photographs.

Sage is pleasant and at times even inspirational, as are these sages, who are portrayed as human beings at the culmination, not at the end of their lives.