It is impossible not to be fascinated by death. And to be fascinated by death is to, indirectly, be fascinated by life and its many branching paths. That particular preoccupation is all around us. Even if, generally speaking, our culture does not highly value our elderly, we are deeply interested in the extremities of life. There is a mystery, not only in death, but in being over 100 years old. And that is understandable, given our life expectancy is in the 80s. Another two decades of life after that point of supposed no return almost has to be interesting. And that is the crux of the beginning of the documentary journey from Sam Green, The Oldest Person in the World.
Much of this journey is detailed by happenstance. Green was making a documentary about The Guinness Book of Records and found that there was one record that was constantly changing hands: the oldest living person. Soon after, the current record holder was just down the road from him in Brooklyn, New York. There he meets Susannah Mushatt Jones, known as Miss Susie. She has turned 116 years old, and the director notes, repeatedly, our worldwide obsession with the passing of time. Although we expect that these people have found a way to outsmart death or have some deep secret, we know in our hearts that this is likely foolish.
As Green moves from one record holder to the next, it becomes clear that, like all of us, they are people with individual stories, but no real secrets to share. New York, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, France. All of these countries, through the decade he was filming, had the oldest person alive at one point or another. They all have a comment on what matters, but none of them are secrets that are that illuminating. This documentary could have simply become a Sisyphean task, because where does this end? He even details a fantasy of having his son (and his son’s children) carry on this work for decades upon decades. But what would that tell us, besides documenting all of these people who had the tenuous record?
Where this documentary gets truly interesting is more by chance. Green is diagnosed with multiple myeloma and is forced, obviously, to come to terms with his own possible mortality. This is paired with the birth of his son, which enables the film to take a look at, once again, the extremes. Birth and death, as shown on a counter, become the overarching theme of the piece, and it is all the better for it. He brings up the interesting idea that, despite how common it is, we see birth as a miracle. We cannot say the same for death, as it is simply the end result of life. While the film honors the aged, it does also pay attention to the fact that quality and quantity are not the same. Do we want to live through a second childhood, where we must be cared for at every turn? Every one of these individuals is shown with a caretaker, usually an older family member by this point in time.
Smartly, the film takes the time to remind us that life, living it, is both common and profound. The things we all experience, while different, are no less important, no less mysterious. As Green opens up and shows his family, we are given true insight. What are our hopes for our children? What was our parents’ understanding of us? One particularly powerful, and short, segment focuses on Sam’s brother, Dave, who completed suicide. Surrounded by all of these women (something that could have been mentioned more) who are aging for over a century, the idea of ending your own life is enough to send one spinning. The lack of knowledge, closure, and understanding that this act leaves families with cannot be overstated. Green does not seem interested in reviewing this with his mother, but her simple statement of “he was such a happy child” wounds to the core.
It is impossible not to be interested in someone who has reached nearly 120 years old, but more interesting is our own lives (and deaths) and how we are affected by those around us. It is not a coincidence that, despite this film being about these people, it also focuses on Green’s own family, particularly on his son. When faced with impending death, it must be remembered that life is nothing if not full of promise and value. These folks may have lived for a century, but we never know when our time is up. Every moment matters. 100 years. 5 minutes. They all go by in the blink of an eye.
The Oldest Person in the World had its World Premiere in the Premieres section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Director: Sam Green
Rated: NR
Runtime: 87m
When faced with impending death, it must be remembered that life is nothing if not full of promise and value. These folks may have lived for a century, but we never know when our time is up. Every moment matters. 100 years. 5 minutes. They all go by in the blink of an eye.
Dave is a lifelong film fan who really got his start in the independent film heyday of the 90’s. Since then, he has tried to branch out into arthouse, international, and avant garde film. Despite that, he still enjoys a good romcom or action movie. His goal is to always expand his horizons, through writing and watching new movies.
