“It’s strange. We plan for everything. We insure our cars, our homes. We even insure our lives. But we don’t give a thought to our final years.”

 — Jeanne, a character in the French film, All Together

Depending on who you ask or what you read, aging and retirement are the best things that could ever happen to you (considering the alternatives) or an over-hyped stage of life that’s actually filled with social isolation, economic insecurity, and mounting health problems. These bipolar depictions are both reflected in the burgeoning popular literature about how to navigate the “new old age” — that period of life 78 million US Baby Boomers just began to enter, with varying degrees of enthusiasm or trepidation.

Given this huge demographic, it’s not surprising that more movies now focus on the tribulations of the old. They include the moving, but terminally grim, Amour, its more uplifting French cousin, All Together, and a charming UK import (by way of India), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Although none of these films are set in the US, they explore, very accurately, many of the same social, economic, and health care dilemmas facing millions of people in our country, due to increased longevity.