rooprect I can't understand how so many reviewers feel this movie is about "true love" when it is about the exact opposite: hypocrisy and selfishness masquerading under the self- righteous banner of love.The story begins with a woman who has an affair and dumps her husband 5 days before Christmas (all in the name of love, of course). The man in the affair, a world renowned composer, similarly breaks up his own marriage and family to be with the woman. The two live in wedded bliss with the woman repeatedly making the man promise that he'll never abandon her. But an incurable illness drives a wedge between the two--an illness for which the woman repeatedly and irritatingly blames the man (as "abandonment") while she melodramatically plays the martyred caregiver.There is a scene midway where, at her end of her patience, she cruelly crushes his illusion of comfort by blurting out the harsh reality he needn't know. Then she justifies it by saying they swore to always be honest with each other, in the name of "love". That scene made me want to track down the writer and say "By the way, yes, that dress DOES make you look fat!" *facepalm*Let me say that the illness is one that I have firsthand experience with. The portrayal is quite accurate, and for most of the movie I was impressed with the acting in that regard. But what I found utterly disgusting is the woman's way of handling the illness. Sure, dealing with any sudden illness is tough on loved ones, but this movie came across as simply a pity party for the woman and a justification for her atrocious handling of the situation culminating in an utterly sickening, hypocritical choice even though apparently other reviewers think it's "beautiful". I won't say what it is, but rather I'll let you be the judge if you decide to waste your 2 hours watching this. I'll just say it will undoubtedly offend anyone, like me, who has actually dealt with the hardships of caring for a loved one unconditionally.Though evidently some have interpreted this to be a feel good love story, I found it to be a sickening glorification of selfishness. It reminded me of similarly disturbing Woody Allen flicks which glorify Woody's sexual obsession of old men and young girls which audiences applaud, perhaps not knowing or caring to know about Woody's real life history of sexual abuse toward his daughter, Dylan. I can bet you that the creator of this film has a similar agenda of glorifying his or her own selfish behavior, passing it off as the spoils of love.If you want to see a great movie that illustrates true, unselfish love in the face of a debilitating disease, check out "Away from Her" starring the great Julie Christie.As much as I hate "Song for Martin" I actually recommend that you watch this movie to the end so that some of you can see how NOT to behave in a serious illness situation. This movie took hospice care back 100 years. Two stars out of ten, simply because I reserve 1-star ratings for snuff films like "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Electrocuting an Elephant".

runamokprods A moving film about two late middle aged people (a composer/conductor and a first violinist) who find each other, fall madly in love, leave their marriages, only to have Martin develop Alzheimer's.The bulk of the film is watching his slow decline, as he slowly disappears, leaving his lover behind. Tremendously sad, yet somehow also a little cold, not as emotionally impactful as I kept wanting it to be. The acting is terrific, but there's something both a bit clinical, and a bit manipulative about it. E.g. Martin's attacks too often come at the (too) perfectly dramatic moments. Also, there's no time spent on the wrenching decision for each to leave their earlier marriages, so why include it? Yet, all that said, it's still a strong, moving experience. A grown up movie about older people in a world with far too few of both.

suzanna_leslie I give it a 3 for being so long and drawn out, but I give it a 10 for reminding me and giving me a picture of what can happen when someone is given an EXTREME dose of Alzheimer's. This is a movie that shows you a "worst case" scenario, but given the choice of a long and drawn out condition or short one, anyone, whether caregiver or patient, would choose the later one and try to make the most out of it before they die. This is a good movie for someone who wants to become a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer's and needs a good devil's advocate. This is also a good educational movie for those studying in the mental health field.

Zork G. Hun (trixter-2) While `A song for Martin' is a powerful movie, it is also a sort of impotent one. One of the hobbyhorses of my high school literature teacher was to make us understand the difference between what is tragic and dramatic. A car accident is tragic. A car going over a cliff driven by someone fulfilling his inescapable destiny is drama. Alzheimer's is a tragic disease, but it is not drama. Unavoidable is not a substitute for inescapable. You cannot have drama without participation while participation is the last thing you can expect from someone suffering from the disease. This is a very well made movie. Acting is superb; cinematography is fine. I learned from it everything I would ever care to know about Alzheimer's, but I still left the theatre with an empty feeling. The story is sad, the loss is painful and love conquers everything but I had no revelations. I received information, from which I only gained knowledge, not real gut wrenching understanding. I never cared much about acted documentaries and this film never really rose above that.`A song for Martin' has a very promising start. Passionate love at the age of 50/60 is full of dramatic potential. For a while I thought that is what the movie will be about, but I was wrong. There are hints of dramatic conflict but they are never explored and from the moment Martin is diagnosed, the story turns purely didactic. Dealing with such a situation also has dramatic potentials but this movie choose to concentrate on the evolution of the illness. Is that bad? I don't know, but gaining this sort of knowledge is not what I expect from art.Should you see this movie? I think so. You will learn a lot about the illness most of us fear the most. Just do not expect more. See it for what it is: an animated illustration of the disease. For that, it is perfect.