So Late, So Soon (2020)
Directed by Daniel Hymanson
Few things jostle you back into place, remind you of the passage of time, then to see your parents after a long delay. I had gone over six years since seeing my mother and father. It’s a banal observation, but time had not been kind. Their faces sat lower on their skulls. My mother’s hair had grayed. My father was gaunt, his softer features having faded away. They live on the second floor of a condominium complex in a suburb on the outskirts of Chicago. The prevailing memory of their space from late 2012 was how my mother’s interior decorating sensibility defaulted to red: red area rugs, red tablecloth, red appliances, etc. Returning to their condo, that feature remained the same, just with an extra air of staleness, a kind of dust that develops when spaces are neglected. My mother, now a smoker, takes her cigarettes indoors. The lights are kept on dimly. The blinds are shut. Both complain of arthritis and struggle down the flight of stairs leading them out of the apartment. They don’t go out as much anymore.
The Candyland House in Rogers Park, owned by Jackie and Don Seiden, possesses an exterior that you’d imagine could be featured in a Wes Anderson film. But the interior is falling apart, as is the couple. Daniel Hymanson’s documentary captures the two artists in the twilight of their years, resigning to a life of petty squabbles and reading library books by each other’s side. It’s an uncomplicated film about the endurance of art in the couple’s life, and the agonies of having your body turn against you. Its spirit is reminiscent of films like Love Streams by John Cassavetes or Make Way for Tomorrow by Leo McCarey, where the pangs of aging are observed with profound compassion. As Don pensively notes, the life that the two have built is the only one that they could’ve made. For a 70-minute film, it meanders, but like spending time with my parents, it’s the sort of exercise that may not be especially pleasant, but ultimately you’re glad you did it.