This post and the next are about two wonderful documentaries I viewed in early 2007.
The first, SO MUCH SO FAST, is a documentary I saw thanks to FRONTLINE. I've lauded FRONTLINE in the past and I'll be doing so in the future. For me, it is perhaps the best television has to offer. FRONTLINE broadcasts incisive, riveting, and thought provoking documentaries each week on PBS. Each episode (post 1995 or something) also has a companion website filled with insightful information and analysis. They're all organized at the main FRONTLINE website, which also has a section listing the episodes of FRONTLINE you can view online (currently 64).
Most of FRONTLINE's documentaries are piercing investigative journalism dealing with political, social, economic, and cultural issues. But frequently, FRONTLINE showcases probing, personal documentaries. These docs still deal with the same issues, but do so through intimate, full portraits of there very human subjects. A great example of this type of doc is COUNTRY BOYS which FRONTLINE aired in 2006. The doc displayed the complex struggles and joys of living in Appalachia through the lives of two young boys. It is an exceptional film and I highly recommend checking out the website and the film itself (which can be viewed online).
SO MUCH SO FAST is a doc in the same vein. The film follows a young man, Stephen Heywood, and his family, as they discover Stephen has ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's disease), take care of him, and even try to find a cure. It is a tour-de-force filled with profound insights into how a young man deals with a horrendous disease, and how a family deals with such a tragedy. Not lying down.
If you're at all curious about SO MUCH SO FAST I highly recommend checking out the website. Unfortuantely, you cannot view the documentary online. But FRONTLINE does rotate which docs are available for online viewing. So I'd suggest bookmarking the website and regularly checking it; I'm not certain, but my guess is that the doc will be available online in the coming months (either that or it will be released on DVD and available for rent and purchase). And in the meantime there are clips. Plus the website has a wealth of information.
All I can say is that it is a tremendous film and something you're probably not expecting. A truly remarkable documentary.
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11 comments:
My uncle died of ALS, such a terrible way to go, and one of many diseases for which treatments could be found with stem cell research. I read about this documentary awhile back . . . thanks for mentioning it
I come for the writing, and always leave with something new to check out! Thanks V.
Check out Sicko and Jesus Camp if you get the chance; both very good documentaries.
That looks very interesting. I will watch that.
I had an uncle who someone how Keith Hernandez' Disease. It's not fatal or anything too bad. He just grew a moustache that no razor could cut.
ALS is a horrendous disease. It is unfathomable to me that our president and his flock of numbskulls have taken such a hard line against the best chance we have to cure it.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will check it out.
I've seen several Frontline documentaries, and feel completely enlightened after each one. They really have a dry, humorless feel. But the details and revelations build, often leaving me stunned.
I'll try to catch it on PBS, but will definitely check out the website. Thanks.
Good review V--ALS is horrible.
I'll try to get up a movie review of Ikiru, which I recently watched. It's a 1952 Japanese movie about a man who discovers he has stomach cancer and how he lives his last months.
Good words.
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