# animate! › Films › The Old Fools by Ruth Lingford › synopses

Canonical: https://animate.org.uk/films/oldfools/synopses

Discovery terms: 2000s animation, hand-drawn animation, animated typography, live action and animation, ageing, death, parents, poetry film, filmmaker, animator

The following is the archived page text; discovery terms above are separately sourced metadata.

Archive status: restored in 2026; historical calls, deadlines and services are closed.

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**The Old Fools** a film by Ruth Lingford

2002, 5 min 37 sec

### animate! synopsis

A clear-eyed look at the inevitability of our demise based on Philp Larkin’s poem of the same name, voiced by Bob Geldof.

### short synopsis

A clear-eyed look at the inevitability of our own decay and death. With some humour and visual seduction, the film uses images that are visceral, abrasive and sometimes quite beautiful, hinting at the consequences of our society’s denial of death.

### long synopsis

**The Old Fools** directed by Ruth Lingford is based on the poem of the same name by Philip Larkin. Written when the poet’s mother was in a nursing home.

Like the poem, the film explores the ambivalent feelings of tenderness and disgust, compassion and terror evoked by countenancing the decay and death of a loved parent.

It offers a clear-eyed look at the inevitability of our demise. The film presents a clear-eyed look at the inevitability of our own decay and death, with some humour and visual seduction.

Using images that are visceral, abrasive and sometimes quite beautiful, the film hints at the consequences of our society’s denial of death. Techniques include DV footage, drawings and typography digitally animated, using Painter and After Effects.

**The Old Fools** film, stills and other materials © Ruth Lingford 2002