Entertainment

Isn’t she ‘Still’ lovely?

Good, non-condescending movies about problems facing the elderly are a rarity in this country — we have to import them from places like France (“Amour”) and Canada, which turned out “Away From Her,” and now this inspirational heart-tugger written and directed by Michael McGowan.

Veteran character actor, Oscar nominee (“Babe”) and Hollywood scion James Cromwell — Dad directed “Anna and the King of Siam” and Mom played “Madam Satan” for Cecil B. DeMille — aces a rare leading role.

He plays a feisty, real-life 89-year-old who runs afoul of government bureaucracy while personally building a smaller and simpler home for himself and his wife, who is slipping into Alzheimer’s on their vast farm in New Brunswick.

The building inspector issues a stop-work order because, among many other infractions, the wood Cromwell uses comes from ships and not a lumber mill. He gets help in his crusade from his children and his lawyer (Campbell Scott), but ultimately it’s this proud and stubborn old man who has to make a case before a judge for his skill in crafting the home the way he has for decades.

“Still Mine’’ eschews schmaltz, and is tremendously moving. The stricken wife is played by another Oscar nominee, Geneviève Bujold (“Anne of the Thousand Days’’), and her easy chemistry with Cromwell makes you believe our hero would risk jail to make her comfortable.