First Cousin Once Removed (2012)

Acclaimed filmmaker Alan Berliner chronicles the deeply personal story of his mother's first cousin--well-known poet/translator/professor Edwin Honig--on his journey into the depths of ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Berliner

Stars:

Eli Berliner, Stuart Blazer, Susan Brown

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Eli Berliner	...	Himself
Stuart Blazer	...	Himself
Susan Brown
Barbara Estrin	...	Herself
Sophie Hawkes
Daniel Honig	...	Himself
Edwin Honig	...	Himself
Margot Honig
Cheryl Kaplan	...	Herself
George Monterio	...	Himself
Caryl Morris	...	Himself
Lila Putnam
Heather Shaw
Jeremy Shaw	...	Himself

Storyline

Acclaimed filmmaker Alan Berliner chronicles the deeply personal story of his mother's first cousin--well-known poet/translator/professor Edwin Honig--on his journey into the depths of Alzheimer's disease. Shot over the course of five years, the film presents an unflinching portrait of Edwin's work and life while documenting his slow mental deterioration through visits and interviews with Edwin and his friends, former students, and others, along with archival footage and more.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 2014 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Edwin Honig emlékezete

Company Credits

Production Co:

Experiments in Time, Light & Motion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Color:

Color (MiniDV) Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Barbara Estrin: [YOUNGER EDWIN On video recording] I'm Edwin Honig and I've been around for 70 years, so I think. I've been a poet and writer... Born in Brooklyn, NY, September 3rd, 1919... Abraham Lincoln High School 1935... City College of New York... University of Wisconsin at Madison. Studied English...
Barbara Estrin: [OLD EDWIN] Who's this?
Barbara Estrin: [YOUNGER EDWIN, Continuing in background] ... graduated in '41, BA in Latin American Affairs, Spanish and Political Science.
Alan Berliner: [Voice] He's the man who you once were.
Barbara Estrin: [...]

User Reviews

Deeply moving and thought provoking documentary.

Talented and off-beat film-maker Alan Berliner documents the mind of his much older first cousin, the poet and translator Edwin Homing, as he slowly loses the battle against Alzheimer's.

Of course, any film about that subject can't help but be touching, but Berliner goes well beyond the obvious tragedy to raise questions of; what is memory, time, family? We see and hear both the good and bad about this man, hear (and sometimes see) his poetry, hear the anger he put on his children as they were growing up, to end of not with a portrait of a disease victim, but of a man and an artist. Berliner jumps around in time, so we see Edwin in bad and good moments. In the end, this isn't a linear portrait of a man's decline, but an thoughtful and even darkly entertaining exploration of what is communication, thought, love.