The Story Behind 'Volunteer'
A short documentary observing the life of 92-year-old Howard Henry, and how he chooses to stay busy and avoid aging by going to work every day.
a rough start
I started pursing this story in 2017, when I was very new to filmmaking and I had no clue how to even start to develop a story or make a film. I had seen some really great short documentaries on Vimeo and I knew I also had an interesting story to tell.
My neighbor, Mr. Henry, has always been interesting to me. He has a unique life that is not typical for someone his age and I wanted to express my interest and admiration for him. I started filming him around his house with my iPhone for reference, then I got some help from friends to follow him around and film his daily life: going to work, watering his plants, and counting coins, the same things he is doing today.
I was able to put some scenes together and share them with friends and on social media, but never put the full effort in to pursue the entire story. I was still finding my style and developing my filmmaking craft, so I am glad I waited as long as I did to complete it.
An Ordinary Story
In 2019, I took a course about the films of director Yasujiro Ozu and was inspired greatly by his craft. His films have a contemplative style mixed with a rigourous simplicity that make you feel like you are watching a beautiful work of art.
All of his scenes mirror the rhythms of everyday, ordinary life that allow you to contemplate and observe the film rather than react to it. He was so precise in his filming and editing. His shots are always perfectly framed and the cuts always feel like they came at the exact moment they should.
Since I’m not interested in making narrative work, I wanted to bring Ozu’s technique and style into the documentary space, where you typically can’t plan scenes like you would for a movie. I tried to replicate his style in many ways, such as cutting to shots of nature to transition in and out of scenes, which establashes the space obliquely and leaves room for reflection. I also tried to be very precise with all of my shots, making sure the composition was perfect and enjoyable to view, almost like a still image.
It made the most sense for me to edit the film in a series of chronological events since Howard does the same thing every day. I tried to edit with a slow and steady tempo for most of the film to give a sense of Howard’s quiet, gentle, and ordinary life.
Just like Ozu, the point of this film isn’t the plot. Rather, it is the simple things about the characters life that I find more important. Boring can be interesting when we are so used to busyness and action all the time.
I also felt it was important to leave room for multiple meanings in this film. We don’t know if he’s truly lonely, or frustrated, or what he really struggles with most, but we know that he enjoys his daily routine and that he is happy right now.
Waiting for the perfect time
After a while, all of my friends knew that I had started working on this passion project of mine, but I never finished it. I had a responsibility to finish this project since it is so close to my heart and deeply personal for me, since Mr. Henry is like a grandfather to me.
Unfortunately, all of the previous footage we shot of Howard went to waste. But the experiences didn’t. In the process of trying to make this documentary, I made a few other films, which I learned a lot from. When it was time to start working on it again, I decided to start from scratch and reshoot everything so I could have a fresh perspective and everything could be current.
I kept putting off getting to work on it. I waited even longer because I wanted to shoot it during the summer when he would be outside and I could capture the city and his backyard when the sun was out and the plants were blooming.
Generally people say that there is never a perfect time to create a project, so you should just start. But for this film, I really feel like I made it at the perfect time. I truly felt like I was finally ready. I dropped a lot of other things in my life at the time so I could spend time just sitting with Howard, observing his daily life, and really listening to him, without distractions. A lot of the time I would just sit with him in his backyard and watch the clouds go by.
A Perfect Subject
Throughout the process of interviewing and filming him, he couldn’t comprehend why anyone would think he had an interesting life. That’s why I knew he made the perfect subject.
He humbly allowed me to follow him around with a camera while he went on with his daily life as usual, like I wasn’t even there. The most difficult part was to get him to understand that I was interested in his current situation in life, which is not something he has much pride in.
During interviews, he preferred to tell me about his life history, which is also interesting, but not relevant to my film. We spent hours talking about his time working the railroads as a teen, serving in World War 2, living in China, and working as a court reporter. Although I didn’t use any interview clips from any of his history, I cherished those moments of listening to him look back on his adventurous and tiresome life.
A Volunteer
The most interesting part of this story is the fact that he is so active and able to continue to work every day. I have no idea how he is so healthy in his 90’s, but I credit it to staying busy and working even in his retirement years.
I have been trying to make this film for three years. Things in Howard’s life could have easily changed. There were a few times when he got sick and I worried that he wouldn’t be able to get around like he normally does. I also feared that he would pass away and I wouldn’t have completed the film, which would be devastating to me.
This film was a way to honor Mr. Henry and his beautiful life. I am so lucky to have an amazing neighbor like him. I hope he has the fortune and ability to work until his last day, because that’s what he would want to be doing: volunteering.
