And here's David Sedaris brilliantly admiring it, in "The Dream of Finishing One’s To-Do List in 'Retirement Plan'/In John Kelly’s animated short film, narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, nothing’s off limits when it comes to thinking about the future—particularly when there’s so much left to do" (The New Yorker):
@newyorker “Most people are defined by what they did, and he’s defined by what he didn’t do.” David Sedaris reflects on the director John Kelly’s Oscar-nominated animated short film, “Retirement Plan.” Watch the full film at the link in our bio.
♬ original sound - The New Yorker
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53 కామెంట్లు:
…my dress cost more than my movie…
It's about a sad, self indulgent, lonely man with no family and chronic mild depression who never really lived life trying to catch up once it's too late. He's hoping for instant Karma at the end of a long boring road.
It's at best a cautionary tale for young people not to squander your life waiting for some distant reward of ease and enlightenment.
Is there anything more New Yorker than that?
@Howard -- Indeed, a pretty bleak little film. Lots of people live their lives that way and don't have a clue about retirement planning, savings, taxes, or whatnot. It just arrives and they come with some cliched bucket list to mark the hours.
Consider the final line of Modest Mouse "Ocean Breathes Salty" (2004):
The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
In your head, in your mouth, in your soul
The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind
Well, I don't mind I don't mind
How the hell could I mind? Huh
Well, that is that and this is this
You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
You get away from me (you get away from me), you get away from me
Well, that is that and this is this
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed
When the ocean met the sky (you missed, you missed)
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?
I'm glad I've been reading books all along, because I'm losing my eyesight. My uncle was going to read all the books he'd missed once he retired but then he got glaucoma. Couldn't read anything.
Is he me? Or is he my next-door neighbor? Or are we both indistinguishable to others at this point?
When readers of the New Yorker retire, they have more time to hate Trump. And they are doing it.
I'm seeing the hate in the early comments.
I thought this was one of the best things I've seen in some time.
I think some may not realize it'll happen to them, too.
@Temujin:
Not "hate" here, just a routine sad outcome of many lives. Some live happy and die happy, but many do not. Social isolation pretty much guarantees less happiness than a life with companionship.
"I'm seeing the hate in the early comments."
What does the first comment even mean?
I feel disrespected.
Not hate, Ann, smugness.
I found it to be beautiful.
Did my comment sound like hate? I thought it was quite open to interpretation.
I kinda lost it after plastic containers.
An enlarged prostate (leading to frequent urination) is eminently treatable. My urologist outlined literally nine different procedures, depending on the particular lobe at issue. It's not something one just has to live with.
By "lost it" I meant I didn't know if he talking to me or if I was the speaker. This was a fascinating video, perhaps deserving of the Oscar. (I wish I could edit my comments here.)
More generally, I preferred the version of this where the guy filled his house with balloons and took off for South America.
I loved it. Poignant and humorous at the same time. I'm not retired yet, but I see a lot of myself in that character. I think my goals are more modest, though. I just want to spend more time with my children and grandchildren if they will have me, go to mass more often, pray more often, and learn to paint.
I am that guy. And I'm not even a cartoon.
Well made. Humorous. But rather self indulgent. Where is the family? Friends, other than in what I interpreted in that park bench scene as him very belatedly coming out as gay? I've been retired a while, and have checked some things off my list. But at the end I expect to have my then grown up grandkids on hand. We've been mischievous co-conspirators since they came onto the scene and I'd like them on hand when I exit stage right. All the rest is trivia.
I feel disrespected
Sorry, it was a good faith comment I thought some would find relevant. Perhaps just move on…
An ode to procrastination
"Sorry, it was a good faith comment I thought some would find relevant."
Since I said I couldn't understand it, if you're in good faith, why don't you explain it to me. You're putting up the first comment, and it feels unfair to me, after taking the trouble to construct an elaborate post, that someone puts up something that's a reference to something not in the post. Maybe it's a great reference and really funny, but explain it. Don't tell me to "move on." It's my post and you took the first position.
Hate isn't my emotional response. He's a perfect example of how modern civilization dehumanizes, in the Jungian sense. That's not hate, it's just an observation.. GenZ should watch this with caution for the future.
Was blind neglect to the late boomers and GenX the best parenting style? Emotional durability.
https://geediting.com/d-bt-psychology-says-the-1960s-and-70s-accidentally-produced-one-of-the-most-emotionally-durable-generations-in-modern-history-not-through-better-parenting-but-through-benign-neglect-that-forced-child/
3/2/26, 8:14 AM
It's at best a cautionary tale for young people not to squander your life waiting for some distant reward of ease and enlightenment.
A friend of mine had elaborate plans for his retirement. Then he saw a doctor about his arthritis. Except it was stage 4 bone cancer. He made it another 30 months but his plans were never realized. No, don’t wait.
Word of the day: Elegiac
…my dress cost more than my movie…
I took the first comment to mean if the short feature wins an Oscar, the outfit the maker wears to the ceremony will likely cost more than the budget of the movie.
If so, a compliment toward the movie, really.
A bit cliché to me, but we're all different.
We should be thankful that our modern lives even offer all these options, and that most are within our reach. Personally, I find it impossible to break out of my lifelong habits about time. I have the resources to live any life I could want, yet I continue on as always: working, supporting, maintaining, and wasting time. I was born working class, and can't escape it, because I don't value or desire what others relish. Maybe it's genetic.
Well said Howard! Wait, did I just type that?
So, who kidnapped Howard and when do we get him back?
It’s a bit disconcerting to see what you thought was a singular journey reduced to a cartoon that everyone can identify with.
“He's a perfect example of how modern civilization dehumanizes” I don’t really see that. Change the surroundings, details, a bit and the progression remains the same throughout time.
We all do our best to settle the bar tab before leaving this world. It reminded me of the song "To-Do List" from the Felice Brothers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G30DaG4anY0
It was both moving and funny. What’s going to be even funnier is when you get to a point in your retirement years when you remember this video. And yes, I know, none of you will ever stop working, and all of you will have full and fulfilling days to the end.
My days are full. Yet I still get it.
I will be drawn into a Law Blog community and obsessively read and respond to comments for hours and hours.
I will read "the classics" that I never had time for when I was working.
I will regret wasting time immersed in Joyce, Faulkner & Milton.
I will travel to so many "bucket list" destinations, enjoy them immensely, yet realize that the quest is endless, and often feel just as gratified watching a good Rick Steves episode.
I will stretch more, and remember how much I dislike stretching.
I will walk or jog at least 5 days a week despite the agony of balky knees and hips.
I will learn that the pot today is much more powerful than 70s dirt weed, and bask in that experience.
I will learn that gummies are like tripping was: an 8-10 hour commitment.
I will appreciate my wife more, and reflect on what a wonderful life partner she has been.
I will come to feel the love of grandchildren, and watching our kids kids grow up, removed from the minute-to-minute focus of parenthood.
I will not be afraid of death, even as I remain terrified of the act of dying.
Charming and thought-provoking, especially as I approach that age myself, but ultimately unworthy of an Oscar, in my view.
He's trying, and failing, to equal the love story of Carl and Ellie in the opening sequence of the movie "Up", which is the most powerful 10 minutes of animation ever put on film.
I can't resist giving my immigrant's observation about this video and the thrust of many of the comments about it.
Are you people serious? You live in the freest, safest country in the world. Abundant, affordable food. Best medical care. An endless variety of beautiful, interesting places to visit. Best technology in the world. Infinite opportunities with excellent pay. Endless variety of interesting things to do.
Every single day is a blessing. Enjoy every single one of them.
Hassayamper said...
"He's trying, and failing, to equal the love story of Carl and Ellie in the opening sequence of the movie "Up", which is the most powerful 10 minutes of animation ever put on film."
Failing because there's no indication of him ever having had a life partner.
A younger man’s view of old age. Reminds me of Yeats “When You Are Old”
"Are you people serious? You live in the freest, safest country in the world."
In case you missed it, this film was made in Ireland.
tcrosse, I wasn't talking to the film-maker but to our commenters here, many of whom who seem to identify with it. And it's a view I encounter frequently among Americans born here, with no appreciation for simple, every-day life here.
Elsewhere, as the Russians say, "Life is hard, and then you die." Here, every day is a bucket list. Do it.
baghdadbob nails it.
I am right there with you except that...I found today's pot too much for me. And the gummies? Even at half it's more than I wanted. Silly me, I thought it would put me to sleep.
And I guess I didn't learn my lesson: I'm planning to reread Joyce and Faulkner, to see if I enjoy it this time around, 55 or so years later.
Loved your comment on travel.
What Howard said
I waited to watch this when I had some time. I got to "I will reply to every email I ever flagged" and stopped. I've been unemployed once, which for a period felt like being retired. The first realization was how utterly pointless most of the emails I received were. I check my home email about once a month and maybe two of the hundreds I receive will be worth reading, which is about the same as the postal mail I receive. I have a fairly clean work inbox. If I need to work with someone, I'll try to meet directly. Email is too tedious. I mostly keep work email to remind me to call someone.
Agree with Hassayamper, the beginning of Up! was a much more powerful story. My wife and I still can't watch it without tearing up and holding each other my closely afterwards. We watch it, then plan our next adventure together.
Bravo to Baghdad Bob.
He's going to find out about pensions, after he retires? It's a droll film, and it's perfectly OK to dream about retirement while you're still on the treadmill.
I thought it was a nice little short, if you paid attention.
I found it to be very sad. Most everything he was hoping to do in retirement either was worthless (respond to every email), nearly worthless (read all the old articles I saved in my computer) or something that if it were worthwhile he could have been doing his entire life (get a dog, read). It seemed like (Thoreau?) the measure of a man looking back at his life and realizing it was entirely wasted on trivia (living lives of quiet desperation). Only now with limited time left some simple pleasures he ignored he chooses to pursue. If he wanted a dog why did he not get one? If he enjoys reading why did he not read? Or alternatively perhaps he doesn't really want a dog or to read. Perhaps now that time is running out he realizes he never stopped to think what is important in life? He never stopped to think "what does it mean to live a good life?" And now in the final innings he realized he never considered this and is answering the question with what OTHER people think fill a good life?
It struck me as sad and pathetic and lonely.
Agree with Hassayamper, the beginning of Up! was a much more powerful story. My wife and I still can't watch it without tearing up and holding each other my closely afterwards. We watch it, then plan our next adventure together.
Us too. We don't re-watch it, but we refer to it whenever we need to remind each other that there are things we want to get done in this game before we start sucking the oranges at the 2-minute warning.
Bleak. No wonder the Muzzies expect to win.
I watched "Up!" in a theater near a lot of families with small children. Its tough, hard, and dark edge wasn't for everyone. Several left the room during the first 30 minutes.
This short strikes me as either (1) an attempt to tackle the Up! theme without enough time to cover it, or (2) a portrait of an introverted man with simple interests. Introverted men (bachelors) are those most likely to not marry -- introverted women have no problem finding mates. This guy is the Unabomber without political ambitions, Walter Mitty without an imagination, or the guy from Brazil! (1985) who never had a crush on a woman.
Enigma said
"This guy is the Unabomber without political ambitions..."
lol.
Kinda bland, but I didn’t see anything to hate. Some people are quite happy leading a life others consider bland. As Lawrence of Arabia said, we can’t all be lion tamers.
Smilin Jack - I don't disagree. But his aspirations for what he truly longs to do in retirement - answer more emails - is just worthless. And his other aspirations - get a dog, read - are things that if he really wanted those things he could have made that happen 40 years prior. Now he is old and time is quickly running out and he never examined his life. Never thought "what does it mean to live a good life." And now as his body can no longer do youthful things ... too late he thinks getting a dog and reading more and trying marijuana will bring fullfilment to his last days?
It really strikes me as pathetic. If reading or a dog were important, now in his 60's is the first time he thinks of this? And he appears to have no meaningful relationships. No friends, no wife, no church.
He seems to have lived a life completely devoid of meaning and now seeks to fill it with a dog.
And the final living hope to cap of an empty life is to say just the right words when he dies.
Living a life of meaning appears never to have been a consideration for him. Just an empty meaningless life.
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