Dreams of Centenarians basically changed the tradition of hero portrayal in Soviet documentary cinema. Up to that point the focus had always been on the youth, physical ability, progressive future, following the ideas of Russian avant-gardists. Yet this film has the opposite message: attention to old age, impermanence and the past. Such contradiction to the Communist values didn’t go unnoticed. The film was criticised for its portrayal of old people. Some found it unpleasant, therefore unpresentable at all.