“I definitely will not go to heaven if there’s no swimming pool,” one of the fascinating subjects of Deeper than Y insists. She’s Gertie Agoston, a senior citizen featured in this beautiful and inspiring movie about the challenges of aging. For their documentary feature debut, filmmakers Ilona and Lane Siller showcase seven eccentric, elderly New Yorkers who attended the same water exercise class at the Vanderbilt YMCA for over a decade.

After co-director Ilona Siller taught their water class for two years, her students trusted her enough to talk with her about everything from their relationships, pasts and politics to their careers and thoughts about aging. Siller must have realized then how important it was to get this information on film. Good for her!   

“We made this movie with a crew of three people and $600 on a debit card,” says co-director Ilona Siller. “I never had a grandparent when I was little, and now I have seven. I am truly blessed and humbled.”

Watching and listening to these seven remarkable people -- all in their 70s, 80s or 90s -- is indeed humbling.  None of them let the aches and pains of old age interfere with their joy of living. A former actress, perhaps the most energetic of the group, wins us over immediately with great sense of humor and upbeat rendition of “Ain’t We Got Fun.” She talks cheerfully about her career in show biz, and we get to see a popular commercial she once starred in. Her only regret? “I can’t do some of the things I like to do -- like tap dancing -- anymore.”       

Among the film’s many other highlights is a former psychologist telling us how to get along in order to make a long-time marriage work -- when he’s suddenly interrupted by his wife’s voice reminding him what time it is. “See what I mean?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. (Shades of When Harry Met Sally.) The author of several published books is also fun to meet as she proudly displays her provocative novels and her typewriter. What, no computer? “That will come later,” she declares.

Unforgettable, too, is the charming woman who admits she didn’t like being a secretary and confesses she still flirts a bit. So is the amusing lady who gets tiny messages from mouse heaven. Poignant and surprising are two articulate men with very different temperaments and politics who became a couple later in life. And downright sweet are the “slow dancing” husband and wife.      

It would have been easy for the Sillers to employ a “talking heads” approach (used in so many documentaries) throughout this film. Fortunately, they wisely intersperse the interviews with scenes at the pool and old newsreel footage, which lends a sense of historic importance to the topics covered. Lovely background music adds to the film’s emotional impact. 

Deeper than Y reminds us not to overlook or ignore our elderly citizens. They have much to teach us about hope, humor and humanity. The seven stars of this unique documentary show us the value of embracing life and keeping active during our later years in spite of physical limitations. And they make us want to be like them when -- and if -- we become 80.   

(For more information, visit the official website at http://www.deeperthany.com.)