The Second Chance

Eighteen months before Jana Garajova made this documentary, an interesting experiment began in Bojnice, Slovakia. A home for elderly women and an orphanage were combined into a sanctuary for people at the beginning and at the end of their lives, and who have no one else in the world. The camera follows the women while they fold the sheets singing, read to the children, help them brush their teeth or play with them in the little square. The close-ups of faces show the pleasure both groups experience in these activities. They give one an other warmth and affection and the women, who otherwise feel no longer useful in society, have found a new goal in life: being a grandmother, who has the time and patience to endlessly occupy the lively children.