The Oldest Person in the World Review: Sam Green’s Soft and Gentle Documentary Gives the Gift of Immortality

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Filmmaker Sam Green is fascinated by something unusual: finding out who the oldest living person on Earth is. This record is unique because the title changes hands frequently. Even people who live to extreme ages, like Jeanne Calment who lived to 122 and famously smoked until her death in 1999 in Toulon, France, eventually pass away – she remains the oldest person ever recorded.

For the past decade, Green has journeyed globally to meet each current record holder of the title, as confirmed by Guinness World Records. Throughout this process, he’s also been grappling with his own thoughts about life and death while raising his son in Brooklyn. The Oldest Person in the World is a tender and moving film that beautifully affirms life’s most important principles, all while acknowledging the enduring mysteries surrounding our biggest questions.

The Oldest Person in the World Answers Existential Questions Previously Unanswerable

Filmmaker Green explores big, thought-provoking questions in his work, often approaching them like a philosopher pondering ideas from the comfort of a chair. His film 32 Sounds was dedicated to the topic of sound itself. He raises questions many of us have, but doesn’t necessarily offer easy answers. He wonders why we care so much about living a long life – is it better to live a long time, or to live a good life, and can we have both? He also investigates our shared interest in the idea of living forever.

His new documentary feels deeply personal, narrated with a warm, intimate voice that sounds like it could easily be on public radio. He speaks slowly and thoughtfully, almost as if he’s carefully considering each idea. The film explores the experience of getting older, which is particularly poignant given Green’s own life story. He’s a survivor of multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the bone marrow, and has also battled suicidal thoughts. Sadly, his brother died by suicide in 2009.

Because it’s impossible to know how long the world’s oldest people will live, filmmaker Green has been shooting his film for a decade. While filming, he reflects on his own mortality, especially when compared to the new life represented by his young son, Atlas. Green envisions his film continuing to evolve, potentially for years to come. Currently 87 minutes long and planned for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, he intends to keep adding profiles of the world’s oldest people – even after they’ve passed away – creating a film that’s constantly updated and a lasting record of human life.

What I found so captivating about The Oldest Living Person in the World is how it truly captures the magic of cinema. Movies give people a kind of immortality – as long as the film exists, they live on. Photos freeze a moment, but film brings people to life. It’s easy to forget that everyone’s time is limited, especially when we focus on someone simply for their remarkable age. What Green has done is so much more than just document these individuals; he’s revealed their inner lives and, in doing so, given them a lasting legacy that goes beyond just holding the title of the oldest person alive.

He features incredible people who lived exceptionally long lives, including Emma Morano, an 117-year-old Italian woman who attributed her longevity to avoiding men and eating three raw eggs daily. Violet Brown, also 117 and from Jamaica, believed in making the most of what life offered – a philosophy inspired by a line from Lord Byron’s poem about accepting one’s fate. Kane Tanaka, 119 from Japan, kept her mind sharp by solving math problems. And Sister André, a French nun, peacefully passed away with her gaze lifted towards the sky.

Maria Branyas, who lived to be 117 years and 168 days old, didn’t believe anything extraordinary happened to her. She simply stated, “A hundred years is a hundred years,” and offered this advice:

“You are so young.

And now is the time.

To do good works.”

I stumbled across the most beautiful little ‘poem’ recently – it was basically just a spontaneous thought from the world’s oldest person, shared in August 2024. And honestly, it really struck me. It was a simple reminder that life isn’t about big gestures, but all the tiny, everyday moments. Things like the gentle touch of a turtle’s shell, or the challenge of learning an instrument like the violin. It sounds basic, but it’s profoundly true. And when asked the secret to her long life, this incredible woman simply said, ‘good health.’ It’s a wish I think we can all relate to and hope for.

The Oldest Person in the World screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

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2026-01-24 00:10