A film that documents life and love, Echo of You talks to seniors who have lost their lifelong partners. Each of filmmaker Zara Zerny’s subjects has a unique story to tell about their relationship. There are stories of love at first sight, of arguments, of infidelity. Not every relationship was perfect. But each and every one of these 80+ year-olds have a deep respect and affection for their dearly departed. Each have memories that come flooding back in with a sound, a smell or even while shopping for flowers.
Most of Echo of You is a conversation. But sometimes Zerny touchingly projects images or video from the past over the faces of her elderly subjects. The juxtaposition of these moments in time is striking, as if we are privy to the inner thoughts and memories of these men and women. Zerny’s questions are gently probing, but create a level of vulnerability and intimacy that seems unexpected from a generation that often seems so remarkably stoic.
It’s somewhat scary to realize that many of us may be in the same shoes as we enter our later years, grappling with loss. When we have much time on our hands (“time you’re not in need of,” one subject notes) to muse over the past, it seems lonely and somewhat sad. Yet Zerny is careful to never let empathy for her subjects turn into pity, showing some who have found new love or connection in other places. Echo of You creates an interesting and intimate portrait of longstanding relationships, the length of which seem almost unheard of these days. But, it also wants to remind us of the importance of love in our lives, whether that’s with a partner, family or within ourselves.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Documentary
- Release Date: 4/29/2024
- Directed by: Zara Zerny
- Produced by: Maria Møller Kjeldgaard
- Studio: Manna Films
