Peege

Peege is an award-winning 1972 short student film, written and directed by Randal Kleiser, about a family's visit to an elderly relative in a nursing home. The film was named to the National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress in December 2007. An elderly woman, nicknamed "Peege" and played by Jeanette Nolan, lives in a nursing home where she is suffering from blindness and ailing mental faculties. Her family makes regular visits to her every Christmas, but her poor health makes these occasions awkward for everyone else. The conversation is stilted until the family goes to leave, when... one of the grandsons remains behind briefly. He recounts to his grandmother that when he was a young boy her laugh would "always make [him] happy", before tearfully departing, unaware if he has communicated with her. After his exit, the camera lingers on her face and her expression subtly shows he was successful. After graduating from University of Southern California, Kleiser had struggled creatively while making educational films, and at the behest of his father he returned to college to earn his Master's degree.
more