Key House Mirror

3rd Danish Film Festival

Cinema 4, Shang Cineplex

Lily and Max live in a nursing home. Max suffered a stroke and is mostly bed ridden from his paralysis. Lily, the ever faithful wife also lives in the same facility in a nicely furnished room, complete with a TV and a receiving area. When I first saw this setup, I was impressed as I know that health care in Scandinavian countries are highly subsidized by the government.

So while Lily is the only fit person in the facility, she does follow a daily routine of taking care of her husband. But it really isn't much as there are staff to do all the 'heavy lifting' so to speak when it comes to providing adequate health care. So she does have time to go for walks, feeding some ducks on a pond and also play bingo and join in other fun activities at the facility.

Lily soon takes a liking to a new occupant across her unit, a charismatic fellow named Erik. He is a former pilot and currently suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Much to the chagrin of the other senior citizens, Lily and Erik develop a romantic (and sexual) relationship. Lily 'justifies' by saying that Max was never the passionate type so at this stage in her life, she feels she has the 'right' to satisfy her needs.

Things get complicated when Lily gets stubborn and insist on traveling to Paris with Erik to fulfill her bucket list. By this time, she has been diagnosed with dementia so it is really heartbreaking to watch. A point of contention is when she argues with her daughter and begs her to take her home but her only offspring thinks it is too much of an inconvenience for them.

I was shocked as I was raised in a culture where we don't shuttle off our parents to a nursing home when their fragile and frail bodies need medical attention. Having said that, I do understand how 'convenient' it can be to have old people live in a facility where their medical needs can be totally cared for by duly trained medical staff.  Well I guess it is also convenient if health care was 'free' so that would really give one peace of mind knowing that they get the care they deserve during their twilight years.

Films dealing with senior citizens really touch me to the core and I get highly emotional watching them. The realistically poignant acting performances of the actors did tug at my heartstrings. I remember watching the lead female star in another poignant film dealing with euthanasia in last year's Silent Heart.  In this film,  her delivery is on point. So even though the pacing and the story line could do with some editing, I went home thinking I should give my parents, several tight hugs.

P.S.

The title is derived from the three words (Key House Mirror) which Lily had to remember during a memory test performed by a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, she couldn't recall them. :(