Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 44 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Deborah Hoffmann |
| script | Deborah Hoffmann |
| production | Deborah Hoffmann |
| music | Mary Watkins |
| camera | Frances Reid |
| cut | Jennifer Chinlund |
| occupation | |
| |
Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter is an American documentary film from 1994. The director, screenplay and production was carried out by Deborah Hoffmann , who documented her mother Doris' progressive Alzheimer's disease with her film .
action
Doris Hoffmann is 78 years old at the beginning of the film and has been widowed for some time. She decides to move to California to be closer to her daughter, Deborah. The camera accompanies Doris and shows how the pensioner behaves increasingly strangely and forgets more and more. Deborah Hoffmann films various episodes from the course of the disease, for example a time when Doris Hoffmann eats bananas almost continuously, unable to remember that she had already eaten a banana a few minutes earlier. Doris goes through a "dentist period" in which she writes countless notes to remind herself of non-existent appointments and wants to go to the dentist every day, assuming she has an appointment there. Deborah is slowly accepting that the Doris she knew no longer exists. There are painful moments in which the mother does not remember that Deborah is her daughter, and asks what is the relationship between the two women. The daughter tries to understand the mother and to help her. The relationship between the two women changes, it is no longer based on shared memories. Deborah Hoffmann realizes that her mother only lives in the present and that the past and the future are irrelevant. In addition, the homosexuality of Deborah and the way the mother treats her lesbian daughter is discussed.
Reviews
Walter Goodman wrote in his review for the New York Times , " Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter is Deborah Hoffmann's funny, sad, loving, desperate, ironic, and devoted account of trying to cope with her mother's unsteady mind."
Edward Guthmann wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle : “Despite her mother's agonizing situation, the director also finds humorous moments without appearing disrespectful. Although her condition deteriorates, Hoffmann recognizes the value in her mother's life, which has changed so completely ”.
Awards and nominations
- Academy Awards 1995 : Nomination for " Best Documentary "
- International Film Festival Berlin 1995 : Teddy Award
- Caligari Film Award 1995
- Peabody Award 1995
Web links
- Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter on truelives.org
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Goodman: Television Review; Learning to Live With Alzheimer's , New York Times article, June 6, 1995, accessed January 26, 2012.
- ↑ Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle, June 11, 1994, accessed from the Teddy Awards website ( memento of the original from September 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on January 26, 2012.
- ^ POV: Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter (PBS). In: www.peabodyawards.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018 .
