Auld Lang Syne

Brothers John and Alan Lawson were born a mere 14 months apart and looked very alike. They were inseparable when they were young, had the same interests and even responded to each other’s names. However, their characters were very different as became apparent in their later lives.
Filmmaker Cindy Jansen met John Lawson in Paris shortly before he died in 2009. His story of a life of partying, generosity and ultimately alcoholism and lies convinced her to look up Alan Lawson who made a career for himself as a professor at Brown University in Boston.
Jansen combines special camera and voice-over techniques (Alan reading John’s text for instance) and alternates these with films from the family’s archive and images of places John spoke about. The calm, loving film subtly makes you think about life’s choices and society’s sometimes high expectations.

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