A Brief Review of Up

An old man loses his beloved wife and doesn’t know what to do with himself afterward.  Carl and Ellie were never able to have children, so when Ellie dies, Carl is left alone in their house, which a developer wants to tear down.

Rather than move to a retirement center, he attaches thousands of colored balloons to his house and floats away on a belated trip to South America — he and Ellie had planned to go there, but they never made it.  Along the way he befriends a boy, has an adventure and learns to love again.

Up is the best movie I’ve seen in a good while.  Its themes include loss, aging and discovery of new life.  It reminded me of a book by Dan Moseley, Living with Loss.  This film (and Moseley’s book) are excellent resources for people dealing with grief.