The Show Must Go On

`Welcome to the Sun City West Variety Show!' This salutation at the beginning of the documentary kicks off a tinsel evening of drama, singing and dancing, but also epitomises Hans Heijnen's film. The filmmaker captures life in Sun City West, an El Dorado particularly for creative pensioners. Everyone with a little talent can join one of the more than one hundred and forty clubs - ranging from tap dance clubs to German choirs whose songs resound in the Heidelberg Inn. Self-explanatory images of an everlasting show are alternated with beautifully composed shots of the sleepy day-to-day life and with interviews about marital problems, family tragedies, fear of dying and loneliness, but also about grown-up men childishly nagging each other.