The 2009 documentary film How to Live Forever explores the topic of longevity. It was written by Mark Wexler and Robert DeMaio. Wexler, who also directed, made a three-year pilgrimage to discover the best practices and philosophies of positively living a long life. He was influenced into this by the death of his mother and the arrival of an AARP card.

Wexler visits the then oldest living person, a 114-year-old woman in Indiana, and includes a segment on Jeanne Calment, a French woman with the longest documented lifespan of 122 years.

At the home of fitness legend Jack LaLanne, LaLanne puts Wexler through his paces. LaLanne was surprisingly comparatively short for someone who always gave the impression of being a big man—certainly a strong one. He bragged about swimming at advanced ages towing boatloads of people and had the films to prove it.

Author Ray Bradbury is asked whether he ever feared growing old. He answers that he never had that fear as he spent his life gathering truths and the longer he lived the more truths he gathered. He also speaks of exploding with enthusiasm on getting up each morning.

Wexler visits known hotspots for longevity including a certain region of Japan where a 93-year-old fisherman swims to set out fishing gear.

The documentary shows a funeral directors’ convention and also features people who refuse to die with a tour of a cryonics lab.

The unintentionally saddest part is an interview with actress Suzanne Somers, who describes a very exacting health and fitness routine in positive terms. At the time the documentary was made, she had already battled cancer, which eventually returned and she sadly passed away one day before her 77th birthday. She was much younger at her death than many of the people featured in this film. Everyone who gave their age has it displayed onscreen when they first speak on camera.

Perhaps the most colorful character is a man from London, England, Pierre Jean Buster Martin, 101 years old at the time of filming. At over a century he still maintained a job cleaning vans and ran in marathons. A smoker since age seven, Martin took five rests during one marathon and had a pint of beer and a cigarette during each rest.

Objectionable content is smoking, drinking, and some nudity and sexual situations in a segment about a Japanese filmmaker.

Overall this was a pretty interesting look at many inspiring characters and some views and philosophies on human existence. Recommended for those into that sort of thing.