Forget Me Not 2012
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Martin Heisler and Carl-Ludwig Rettinger
Directed by David Sieveking
DVD, color, 88 min., German with English subtitles
Sr. High - General Adult
Aging, Biography, Alzheimer’s disease, Health Sciences
Date Entered: 12/11/2014
Reviewed by Sue F. Phelps, Washington State University, Vancouver, WADocumentarian David Sieveking returned to his family home in Bad Homberg, Germany to help care for his mother with later stages of Alzheimer’s disease and to allow his father a vacation. Not surprising, therefore, that Sievenking would document his experience and then his mother’s life, both past and present. Early in the film he expresses regrets that he did not know very much about his mother especially since her dementia made her unable to recall her past, but through photographs, conversations with his father, and his mother’s diary he learns far more than he or his father expects.
We learn with Sieveking that his mother, Gretel, had been very political in the 1960’s and active in the Union of German Socialist Students. She was christened the “Mother of the Revolution” and was a co-founder of an anti-authoritarian kindergarten as well as a member of a radical communist group. Through old police files he learns that as a result of her activism she was considered an enemy of the state. Growing up his father, Malte, was a mathematician in the university in Zurich and insisted on an open marriage with Gretel, stating in an interview that he didn’t think it was reasonable to be expected to love only one person. Malte and Gretel were able to create a family life for themselves and their children in spite of their unusual relationship.
Interspersed with the history of his mother and father Sieveking chronicles the difficulties of daily living; the emotional issues related to caring for someone with dementia; the challenges of bringing a caretaker into the home; the eventuality of choosing a nursing facility; and dealing with family issues that arise out of stress. The account takes the viewer through to Gretel’s death and Malte’s return to research in mathematics.
Public and academic libraries that support nursing, medical care, psychology and women’s studies would benefit from adding this to their collection.
Awards
- Critic’s week Winner, Film Festival Locarino
- Best Documentary Winner, Hessian Film Award
- Documentary Film Prize Goethe Institut, Winner Dok Leizig