Posted on: September 15, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The organization Doctors Without Borders does a tremendous amount of good, ensuring that those that do not have ready access to health care will be provided for. However, I do not believe that many individuals have any semblance of the sheer work that these doctors have to go through, and that is precisely why a documentary like Living In Emergency had to be created. This is a gritty, grim documentary that looks to go into depth about what happens on the ground in a great many of these countries, and how many forces are truly at work against this group (religious, governmental, and even logistical).

What results in Living In Emergency is a tremendously compelling narrative, a sense that one will want to do the same thing that this great group does. However, by not making this a rosy type of film about the group, viewers will finaly have a sense of the trouble they get into on a daily basis. The longer runtime (93 minutes) over the normal 40 minutes documentaries often seen on American television allows for a more nuanced story to be told.

If you would like to know more about the Doctors Without Borders, make sure to pick up their documentary. After that, if you have had your heartstrings pulled in any way, find it in your heart to donate to their organization. Kudos has to go out to First Run for releasing this film on a much wider stage than it would normally have been seen on – I know that I will be showing this to anyone that doubts the power accessible just to an individual (or a small group).

Rating: 8.5/10

Living In Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (DVD) / 2011 First Run Features / 93 Minutes / http://www.firstrunfeatures.com

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