Familiar Touch

Sarah Friedland's first feature is about a woman in her eighties moving into assisted living. Ruth has not accepted being taken out of her own house; her memory shifts, she sometimes knows her son and sometimes does not, and she works out again and again where she is. The film does not construct this as a story of decline, insisting instead that she still has desires, pride and decisions to make about her own body. Her relationship with her caregivers is its most detailed section, with the fine line between accepting help and losing independence built scene by scene. The production was shot in a real care community together with the people who live there. Kathleen Chalfant's performance is at the centre and won a prize at Venice. Who it's for: viewers who like calm and respectful films about ageing. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach dementia and care homes; the film treats them directly.