Milton is almost 80 and leads a quiet life in a small town in Pennsylvania. The town’s motto is A GREAT PLACE TO CALL HOME. Widower Milton seems satisfied with life, even if he barely has a social life. He blocks the contact of his contemporaries Joyce and Sandy. He’s peculiar. When he claims that a UFO landed in his flower bed in the supermarket, good-natured Sandy gets worried and visits him. To her amazement, she actually sees an alien sitting on Milton’s couch eating apple slices. Together with the prickly Joyce, the odd trio take on the alien because - despite the city's motto - it wants to leave this place as quickly as possible.


The focus on three older characters in a culture afraid of aging is a brave choice, but it succeeds wonderfully. The meeting between the alien and seniors was already a successful concept in COCOON (1985). Instead of Hollywood effects, there’s now indie comedy. Producer Marc Turtletaub made a name for himself with LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. As a director, he also has the strength for surreal characters and a tragicomic pespective on human primal fears. Growing older means saying goodbye to abilities and possibilities, in contrast with the desire to savor life to the end. Oscar winner Ben Kingsley as Milton navigates this field of tension between sprightly pensioner and the start of dementia. With a hunched posture and a stoic expression, he resembles the silent alient on his couch that doesn’t say a word throughout the entire film. An entertaining and sensitive story about the final life phase, cool seniors, and chill aliens.

Clarissa Lempp

Translation: Elinor Lewy