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An Alzheimer's Story
| Length: | 28 min |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Ages: |
College Adult |
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This documentary provides the rare opportunity of following a family with an Alzheimer's victim for two years.
When we first meet the Jasper family, it is apparent that Anna has difficulty remembering. Her husband, Jack, is horrified to learn that she has Alzheimer's disease. As she declines, Jack and his daughter Zena are faced with the agonizing task of putting Anna into a nursing home.
The story is told without narration. Its power and poignancy lie in the succession of images - the beautiful and strong woman she was and the pathetic nursing home resident she became. At the beginning of the filming the daughter says to her mother, "I love you," and Anna answers with a smile and a kiss. By the end, when her daughter says, "I love you," Anna no longer responds.
What gives this documentary its special quality is the intimate relationship established between the filmmakers and the family. The Jaspers open their hearts to us, and we share this painful episode of their lives.
When we first meet the Jasper family, it is apparent that Anna has difficulty remembering. Her husband, Jack, is horrified to learn that she has Alzheimer's disease. As she declines, Jack and his daughter Zena are faced with the agonizing task of putting Anna into a nursing home.
The story is told without narration. Its power and poignancy lie in the succession of images - the beautiful and strong woman she was and the pathetic nursing home resident she became. At the beginning of the filming the daughter says to her mother, "I love you," and Anna answers with a smile and a kiss. By the end, when her daughter says, "I love you," Anna no longer responds.
What gives this documentary its special quality is the intimate relationship established between the filmmakers and the family. The Jaspers open their hearts to us, and we share this painful episode of their lives.
"Caringly documented from a daughter's point of view, this program... is (useful) for communi-ty college and public libraries." - Booklist
"This is documentary at its best. It is the intimacy it achieves that raises it above other documentaries and teaches us from the inside out. It is recommended for all mental health and medical care specialists." - Donald Fidler, M. D., Hospital and Community Psychiatry
"... realistically portrays the tragedy of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, not only for the patient but also for family members." - New England Journal of Medicine
"This is documentary at its best. It is the intimacy it achieves that raises it above other documentaries and teaches us from the inside out. It is recommended for all mental health and medical care specialists." - Donald Fidler, M. D., Hospital and Community Psychiatry
"... realistically portrays the tragedy of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, not only for the patient but also for family members." - New England Journal of Medicine
American Public Health Association, 1988
National Council on Aging, 1988
Award Winner, Retirement Research Foundation, 1987
American Psychological Association, 1987
National Council on Aging, 1988
Award Winner, Retirement Research Foundation, 1987
American Psychological Association, 1987
