A film festival favorite, The Way We Get By screens tonight at CMA

A heart-warming film about the elderly people who greet American soldiers returning from the Middle East, The Way We Get By screens tonight at 7 and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Here is our review of the movie.

The Way We Get By (US, 2009) A hit at the recent Cleveland International Film Festival, Aron Gaudet’s documentary follows a group of elderly citizens who show up at the Bangor, Maine airport to greet soldiers returning from the Middle East. To date, the greeters have welcomed back some 750,000 military personnel and they call each other at all hours of the nights to rely information about incoming flights. While many of the greeters express their disapproval for US intervention in Iraq, they support the soldiers, shaking each and every person’s hand and letting them use free cell phones to call friends and families. Eventually, we realize the commitment to greeting has given new meaning to the lives of the greeters, many of whom are poor and in failing health. It’s a heart-warming film that thankfully puts politics aside. *** (Jeff Niesel)