56 Up

The British documentary '56 Up', directed by Michael Apted and starring Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, and others, is an exceptional and powerful piece of filmmaking. It's the eighth installment in the Up series, which began with the groundbreaking 'Seven Up!' TV documentary in 1964. The Up series is a longitudinal study that started by interviewing fourteen 7-year-olds in the United Kingdom and has since followed their lives through a new film every seven years.

The '56 Up' installment, created in 2012, provides an incredible insight into these individuals' lives, reflecting their triumphs and tribulations as they have reached the age of 56. The central concept is the Jesuit maxim, "Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man." This saying sets the tone and guides the course of the whole series.

With the individuals living through their mid-fifties, viewers are granted surprising and intimate access to their lives. The director, Apted, keeps the viewers engaged by revealing changes, evolutions, and even shocking developments in their lives, offering a fascinating study on socio-economic circumstances, life's random nature, dreams realized or shattered, and perhaps more importantly, the sheer inevitability of ageing.

As per the classic style of the Up series, '56 Up' exhibits the past and present life of its subjects by juxtaposing footage from earlier films with the interviews of the present year. This unique style enables viewers to identify the stark comparison between the youthful dreams, ambitions, and aspirations of the subjects at seven years old and the realities that have been prevalent in their lives at 56.

Bruce Balden, a schoolteacher who had dreams of reforming the education system, offers an insightful look at the world of academia. Jacqueline Bassett, who always epitomized resilience in previous films, gives viewers a personal account of the challenges faced by the working class in Britain. Throughout the film, viewers encounter the narratives of other participants, each providing an illuminative study of individual lifestyles and societal norms prevalent in the 56th year of their lives. Besides, the wide scope of characters allows the viewers to perceive the versatility of human lives, sentiments, and approaches to life.

Despite the various socioeconomic backgrounds, political views, and personal philosophies, the passage of time becomes the common thread among these diverse individuals. The participants' transformation from naive children into adolescents, from ambitious young adults into middle-aged people grappling with the implications of their past decisions, is a fascinating journey showcased with remarkable depth. The juxtaposition technique enables viewers to have an emphatic understanding of the effects of time on the human mind and life.

One of the areas where '56 Up' excels is in its ability to capture raw, unfiltered emotions. The original project's premise may have been to examine the British class system, but over time it has proven to be much more than that. '56 Up' offers a unique exploration of real-time human development, relationships, dreams, failures, and achievements. The film does an excellent job of reminding the audience of the unpredictable nature of life, and of its continuity despite various obstacles and setbacks.

The format of the Up series, and particularly the '56 Up' installment, has proven immensely influential. This documentary series has created a model frequently used by other filmmakers interested in studying the socio-cultural impacts on human life and personal evolution. The Up series is a touching, often deeply personal time capsule of lives lived, dreams realized or abandoned, challenges faced, and triumphs savored, encapsulating the human condition's multitude within its span.

In conclusion, '56 Up' is not just a documentary; it is an enduring, decades-long study of human life. The 2012 release affords a striking look at the lives of fourteen people who, over the span of seven year intervals, come to represent much more than themselves. They represent a wide spectrum of defiance, joy, heartbreak, perseverance and, above all, life’s extraordinary ordinariness. It is an engrossing emotional odyssey that brings viewers face to face with questions about their own lives, making it a must-watch endeavor in the realm of non-fiction storytelling.