Håvard Bustnes: Shirley og Hinda
… English title: Two Raging Grannies. It’s easy for this reviewer to identify with Shirley (born 1923) and Hinda (1929) in their search for an answer to why we always must believe in economic growth as the answer to the world wide crisis, and here specifically the crisis that their city Seattle undergoes. They don’t understand it, I don’t understand it and whenever experts talk economy on television I am lost, as they probably are. A scene like that is not in the film, but there are several other similar situations set up, where the two lovely ladies ask a teacher, a researcher and a professor for the answer. The film is built around their being in Seattle, their travelling to visit experts, and finally their both funny and touching tour to New York, where they go to a Wall Street Dinner and Shirley enters the stage to ask about the need for the constant growth. She is taken away by strong male hands, insulted from the stage by the arrogant speaker (”that was my mother, she is always like that”), afterwards in the hall she is even more attacked through vulgar language, but she has made her point – and the film is about old grannies, who are energetic activists and don’t hesitate to express their opinions.
But what makes the film nice to watch is its warm and gentle description of Old Age as it comes out from their close friendship, their helping each other, their worry for the knee operation that Hinda finally decides to have done (I survived she says on the phone afterwards), their disagreements about strategy for the activism to be performed… It’s all very well presented by the director, he is making us laugh with them when they go around on their mobility scooters trying to make the world a better place – for the generations to come.
The film has its World Premiere November 13 in 44 Danish cinemas (!) through the DoxBio initiative, whereafter it goes into a regular theatrical release format.
Norway, 2013, 78 mins.
