Manlife

Jun 4, 2017

1h 34m

★ 6.0

Good Reactions

Overview

For over 80 years, Merle Hayden has crusaded to recruit members to the utopian movement Lawsonomy. Founded by aircraft pioneer Alfred Lawson, Lawsonomy advocates for economic reform and clean, communal living that transforms followers into a "New Species" that will benefit the human race either in this life or the next. Merle joined Lawson as a teenager and never looked back. His high school sweetheart Betty Kasch, however, is tired of Lawson coming between them. Reunited after over 60 years apart, non-believer Betty wants Merle to join her in Florida. Merle's commitment to preserving Lawson's legacy, artifacts currently rotting in a barn alongside a Wisconsin highway, has Betty worried Merle may leave her for Lawson once again.

Genres

Documentary

History

Romance

Production Companies

Threshing Media

Manlife Trailers

Cast

Self

Merle Hayden

Self

Betty Kasch

Self

Jim Newman

Alfred Lawson (voice)

Mark Metcalf

BELOW SURFACE reveals the extraordinary power of community through an unlikely subject: a YMCA Aquafit class. The documentary gathers numerous moving stories of a multicultural and multi-generational Aquafit class to demonstrate how kindness and caring for others, combined with exercise, can be an antidote for grief, stress, and physical illness. The heartwarming honesty of the participants is a reminder of the power we all have to support one another.

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0.0

The Last Chapter

Sep 20, 2025

A documentary film that follows the lives of first-generation retired immigrants living in Finland.

6.5

Inside A Cult: Messiah on Trial

May 17, 2009

Current and former cult members struggle to come to terms with the 2008 trial of self-proclaimed Messiah Wayne Bent, accused of molesting young girls.

6.4

Homo Spatius

Sep 25, 2018

Can Homo sapiens evolve into Homo spatius? For over 50 years now, we have been testing our human nature in our effort to conquer outer space, and still 30 years away from a possible human exploration of Mars, a question remains: Can our body take such travels? Will it ever adapt? Combining human adventure and the exploration of the human body, this film offers unique insights into the physical and psychological effects of space travel on the Astronauts and measures the impact on medical sciences.

5.2

What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?

Apr 23, 2004

Amanda is a divorced woman who makes a living as a photographer. During the Fall of the year Amanda begins to see the world in new and different ways when she begins to question her role in life, her relationships with her career and men and what it all means. As the layers to her everyday experiences fall away insertions in the story with scientists, and philosophers and religious leaders impart information directly to an off-screen interviewer about academic issues, and Amanda begins to understand the basis to the quantum world beneath. During her epiphany as she considers the Great Questions raised by the host of inserted thinkers, she slowly comprehends the various inspirations and begins to see the world in a new way.

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0.0

The Cult Next Door

Jan 26, 2017

In 2013, three women emerged from a flat in Brixton. They had been held there for decades by Aravindan Balakrishnan, a revolutionary Maoist who controlled the women with brainwashing techniques and tales of a sinister, world-controlling machine he called 'Jackie'.

5.7

Who Is Bill Rebane?

May 24, 2021

A feature-length documentary on the life and work of Wisconsin grindhouse cinema auteur Bill Rebane, featuring historians, critics, and filmmakers, plus cast and crew members who worked with Rebane himself.

7.4

Song Sung Blue

Dec 15, 2025

Based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams.

7.2

Lars and the Real Girl

Oct 12, 2007

Extremely shy Lars finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother and sister-in-law worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size plastic woman. On the advice of a doctor, his family and the rest of the community go along with his delusion.

1.5

Electronic Awakening

Jan 1, 2011

A documentary following the conscious evolution of electronic music culture and the spiritual movement that has awakened within.

6.2

The Prince & Me

Mar 28, 2004

A fairy tale love-story about pre-med student Paige who falls in love with a Danish Prince "Eddie" who refused to follow the traditions of his parents and has come to the US to quench his thirst for rebellion. Paige and Edward come from two different worlds, but there is an undeniable attraction between them.

4.5

Silent Pioneers

Sep 1, 1985

Contrary to the public stereotype of a youthful homosexual community, gay men and women do grow old. Silent Pioneers presents an upbeat focus on the lives of these people today, showing them living full and diverse lives and sharing concerns on ageing, health and housing, with other senior citizens. It also considers how support networks within the gay and lesbian community have enriched and strengthened their individual lives.

0.0

Het Muziekmedicijn

Sep 18, 2025

The threat of dementia is affecting more and more people. As they slowly lose their memories and physical abilities, music proves to be a miraculous source of comfort, vitality, and hope. How is it, for example, that people with dementia often remember music longer than their own names?

7.6

American Movie

Nov 5, 1999

American Movie documents the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.

0.0

Make Good Choices

Oct 25, 2024

A documentary short on interactive cinema and Bob Bejan's Interfilm, commissioned and produced for Weird Weekend IV.

0.0

Our House

Dec 8, 2025

A young couple are stalked by a presence in the middle of the countryside.

6.0

How to Live Forever

May 13, 2011

Director Mark Wexler embarks on a worldwide trek to investigate just what it means to grow old and what it could mean to really live forever. But whose advice should he take? Does 94-year-old exercise guru Jack LaLanne have all the answers, or does Buster, a 101-year-old chain-smoking, beer-drinking marathoner? What about futurist Ray Kurzweil, a laughter yoga expert, or an elder porn star? Wexler explores the viewpoints of delightfully unusual characters alongside those of health, fitness and life-extension experts in this engaging new documentary, which challenges our notions of youth and aging with comic poignancy. Begun as a study in life-extension, How To Live Forever evolves into a thought-provoking examination of what truly gives life meaning.

Manlife

Overview

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Manlife Trailers