Almost There

For many, Peter Anton's house embodies an end-of-life nightmare: the utility companies long ago shut off the heat and electricity, the floorboards are rotting, and the detritus of a chaotic life is precariously stacked to the ceiling. But for the filmmakers, Anton's home contains a startling collection of unseen and fascinating paintings, drawings and illustrated manuscripts; not to mention Anton himself, a funny and utterly resilient character. Determined to form a coherent future out of a fractured past, they set out together to host an exhibition of the old artworks at America's leading "Outsider Art" museum. The film's self reflective odyssey follows a gifted artist over years of startling twists and turns that compel him to face a dark chapter from his past and the filmmakers to face their motivations. ALMOST THERE is about what it means to grow old in America, how this process can be complicated by mental illness, and how the whole bizarre panoply of life can be redeemed by art.