Lured out to California from the East Coast by movie director Judd Apatow, documentary filmmaker and family man Chris Wilcha makes a bonus short film used for the DVD but soon finds follow-up work scarce. After "selling out" doing TV commercials, Wilcha returns to his first love, going back to the unfinished documentaries he once had a passion for, left by the wayside or abandoned by circumstance. One of his documentaries is about Flipside Records in New Jersey, a record shop packed with vinyl, where Wilcha worked years ago and today finds remarkably unchanged. This treatise on growing up and letting go of our youthful dreams and endeavors gets off to a rocky start (Wilcha begins with footage from a would-be documentary on jazz photographer Herman Leonard that doesn't help us get our bearings). However, what follows is quite poignant and beautiful, a paean to the past that may still have a future. We meet a lot of interesting people in the course of this little gem, including Wilcha's own father, an avid collector of hotel soaps and shampoos...but not a hoarder! Worth-finding. *** from ****

I have to admit that I am guilty of being so attached to Wilcha's story ever since I saw his first documentary, "A Target Shoots First," in 1999 at the Viennale. For 25 years, I wondered where this guy-a promising documentary filmmaker-went. I stumbled upon his Instagram page a few years back, and I finally got to hear his moving story in full, and it was very well told!

This is a film about LIFE-so much about his story dealing with a midlife crisis and being brave in telling it in the first person. It is also about all the characters that were his friends, colleagues, collaborators, and even subjects of documentaries, making this story very relatable. There is always a sense of humor and wit amidst a philosophical subject, just like in his first one.

I don't know if I need to wait another 25 years until his next documentary (I hope not!). Just writing that last sentence feels like I may not have a full grasp of his message. However, I am uplifted today by this film-trying to let go of my old self at the right time and live life to the fullest.