7 Up (1964)

Even if it embraces a too deterministic view of society by presuming it can predict a child's future just from their social class, this is a fascinating film (and experiment) that reveals so much about the multiple contrasting ways those seven-year-old kids perceive the world around them.

A short, sweet, addicting, and influential film. Translating an inclusive lifelong study (of the kind usually reserved for clinical trials) into a sociological documentary takes bravado... but it is amiably handled here. Regardless, the film is limited due to the short-sightedness of its thesis question: does class structure create an inescapable framework that will govern these children's lives? While the question itself is intriguing, it means the selection of children fails to have enough sample space for looking at what would become the major themes of the decades these children would grow up: feminism and racism. There is only one child who represents a minority, and merely a handful of girls. Regardless, such limitations are only blemishes on the horizon in this introductory documentary that serves as a light introduction to an epic series, as well as a brief, poignant look into the mind of a 7-year-old.