76 Days (2020) User Reviews

Dry in parts, though mostly good, with some powerful visuals and a couple of genuinely gut wrenching moments

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 11 February 2021]

As a historical document of something that really didn't happen long ago- even if it feels like history- it's great. As a narrative, it doesn't quite manage to be as compelling.

They do really stick to their approach of just showing - in a straightforward and objective manner - the struggles and tribulations of Wuhan's doctors, nurses, and early patients in the first couple of months of the pandemic.

It really nails the opening and closing scenes, there are a couple of people covered here and there that make an impression, and there are some great, haunting shots of the city in lockdown that never cease to look eerie, even though I've literally been out in the streets and on roads that look just as empty in my home city!

The approach does work for creating a feeling of neutrality and realism, but it's not as engaging as a story, with a sense of (possibly intentional) repetition making it hard to focus during certain parts.

But even then, if I only take away the beginning, ending, a few patient stories, and some of the visuals, that's more than enough. It's an admirable effort to show the early days of COVID-19, and while it's not super "entertaining" or emotionally engaging (save for a couple of heartbreaking sequences that I won't spoil- but you will know them if you watch this documentary), it is interesting.

And it also works as a testament and love letter, if you will, to medical professionals in Wuhan and the world over, highlighting the insane sacrifices they've made to save lives and reduce further outbreaks.

Also, if anyone reading this knows a COVID-denier (if any still exist,) please show them the first five minutes of this movie and see if they have the guts to say it looks exaggerated or not that big a deal- it's powerful, potentially attitude-changing stuff.

An Absorbent Documentary

[Mediasponge · 8/10 · 27 March 2021]

76 Days, places you in the heart of the COVID-19 epidemic. You come to understand that just as with the onset of the AIDS epidemic there are people we can't help but to connect with behind the crisis we're encountering. They are heroes, victims, and survivors that help us all to achieve a better understanding of who we are and who we must be for one another.

A showcase of COVID vs humanity

[mbrcf · 6/10 · 17 September 2020]

TIFF 2020 13

76 Days

filmed mostly in a single hospital in the city of Wuhan, the film shows the period of 2 and half months of lockdown in that hospital and what goes there in that time period. Having access to these footages form the very first frontlines against COVID is what makes this film very special and important. It helps us understand and feel the horrors of those days when we didn't know much about the virus and its behaviour. The film makes of more appreciative of what the hospital staff, the doctors, nurses and everyone involved did for us. Thank you so much for saving us all.

Documenting the 76 days of lockdown in Wuhan, China.

[chong_an · 9/10 · 16 September 2020]

Wuhan, China was the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak, and was locked down for 76 days, while hospital staff struggled with an overload of patients. With all the protective equipment securely taped to them, the staff could hardly be distinguished from one another, if not for their names written on their gowns. Some medical teams from outside Wuhan included their city of origin, and eventually pictures or words of significance are added for individualization.

After the initial rush and chaos, the stories of various patients are followed. The irascible fisherman, the married couple in separate male and female wings, the parents and the newborn baby, etc. Some get discharged, some don't make it. There are also some out-of-hospital scenes of people in lockdown. Despite the fact that some directors have to remain anonymous, the film is not a condemnation of China, but a tribute to the hospital workers, and to a smaller extent, the volunteers.

This is the 1st movie about the pandemic, and is worth seeing.

Excellent viewpoint from doctors and nurses

[oleandernatalie · 9/10 · 9 May 2021]

Beautiful and scary footage of what is was like in Wuhan for some of the doctors and nurses on the front line of Covid-19. Following patients and staff, you see the sheer luck of recovering from covid vs. Dying, and how quickly that was shown. We knew so little back then and the fear we all felt early on was very palpable in this. Despite the subtitles, you get a sense for the great compassion from the doctors and nurses in how much they care for their patients. Beautiful film. I was captivated for the entire thing.

A Brilliant Documentary with A Humanist Vision

[pumpren · 10/10 · 10 January 2021]

This is far better than I expected. Well-edited, fast-paced, and emotionally-engaging. I think showing humanism is far more needed than showcasing cruelty simply as a spectacle.

Genuine stories shot in a fly-on-the-wall style

[breadandhammers · 5 January 2021]

This fly-on-the-wall documentary covers the harrowing time a few weeks after the lockdown began in Wuhan. With any film that deals with China, and especially with a film that deals with such a charged topic like COVID, I was worried that there was influence from the Chinese government. But, upon listening to a follow up Q&A, I am assured that there was no influence from or catering to the Chinese government. In fact, one of the filmmakers is uncredited as anonymous. Thus, my point here is that, the moving stories depicted here are genuine, not some sentimental engineering. There is no superimposed "angle" here, at least not an explicit one. You see the real dedication of doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers at the very beginning of the pandemic. You see both the genuine fear and gratefulness of the patients. I was both fascinated and moved.

The directors risked his own life to make the documentation.

[maiyx · 10/10 · 6 March 2021]

That is one of the bravest documentation I have ever seen.The three director have risked their own life to make this documentation. They travelled to the epicenter during the lockdown, wearing full set of protective equipment and stayed one and half month. I have no idea why people always assume the political views when they are facing Chinese directors or watching something about China. But please remember, they do not have any approval from Chinese government. It means that they were facing legal risk too. I believe the only request of a documentation is to reflect the truth, not to introduce political viewpoints.

Kind of a disappointment

[avenuesf · 4/10 · 18 November 2020]

I was able to see this documentary through DOC NYC's virtual film festival last night, and I have to say I expected a more powerful film. The patients the filmmakers follow in the Wuhan hospital all survive (even the very elderly ones) and are shown all being discharged from the unit eventually. The only reference they make to those patients who died from covid are through a small box of cell phones they use to track down relatives. We all know there has been a huge death rate from this virus, and the film would have had much more impact if they had followed patients who, like so many, didn't survive. The film doesn't even describe the symptoms most of the covid patients are experiencing in order to illustrate how devastatingly ill it can make people who contract it; it just shows patients tired or grimacing, with no explanation of what they're going through. It also doesn't illustrate how many people who have survived the virus are still experiencing what could possibly be life-long complications from it. I think this is an important film in that it illustrates the bravery and the incredible compassion Wuhan's frontline workers have toward their patients on their unit; but in terms of shedding light on just how serious this virus can be and how many people it has killed, I found it unfortunately lacking.

TO MY FELLOW HEALTHCARE WORKERS: YOU GUYS ARE THE HEROES!!

[andrewchristianjr · 9/10 · 28 March 2021]

Hard to watch, but a must see. The directors captured with such sensibility, respect, and care the essence of these people giving everything they've got to save these other people, like on a battlefield. To my fellow healthcare workers: THANK YOU. YOU GUYS ARE THE HEROES!

Is it real, or Real?

[bonniath-13968 · 8/10 · 6 January 2022]

Doctors across the planet just want to save their patients. Government be damned. That's what I got from the film.

Now I want someone to make a documentary in an American hospital. There probably won't be much difference.

Hard to Watch

[srooks1 · 9/10 · 16 November 2021]

This documentary was hard to watch. The scenes were both gut-wrenching and frustrating and frustrating. Gut-wrenching for the sickness and human drama; frustrating for the lying about the scope of the crisis. After two years of the pandemic, the communist indoctrination of the doctors towards the patients was both comical and insane. This makes the film a sad black comedy.

There will certainly be better documentaries in the future...

[Brad_G35 · 3/10 · 20 December 2020]

To start, 10/10 for the front line workers. The compassion and care is unmatched.

We didn't know a lot about the virus in the early days so that has to be known going into this film. Take Covid out of the equation and this is just a movie with a camera following around a bunch of doctors and nurses.

The problem with this documentary is it missed the opportunity on showing just how serious and bad the virus was, is, and will be in all of our lives.

Yes. There was plenty of uncertainty in the early days. Yes. This movie follows around workers in a hospital. Yes. There are a couple of patients they follow and stick with throughout the film but that's it.

It doesn't do a good job of describing symptoms. It doesn't show any patients really struggling(aside from their overall discomfort in the situation). No crowded hospitals. No talking to the patients. Little to no talking to the doctors and nurses.

Even though this hospital was very busy during that time, you don't even get a sense of that from this film. There were plenty of video clips from China and all over the world of doctors and nurses being stressed out, on the phone begging for more beds, and the list goes on and on. You won't find any of that in this film.

CCP approved

[nycscott1 · 1/10 · 16 August 2021]

Sorry as our brothers in Taiwan know there is little to trust or believe from main land China and the CCP , this film is ofcourse produced with CCP cooperatIon and nothing here would not be shown without their approval . The people of China have to live with the CCP and must obey and the world suffers because of this evil organization . I will wait for more independent documentaries to watch , this film I believe to just be CCP propaganda made to save face .

What are images with context? Very little insight

[drapetro · 3/10 · 30 January 2021]

They tried to say Covid story in Wihan.with all limitations of telling story in a controlled state like China is very difficult but at the end this is very limited view of what's really happened in Wuhan. Next will check Ai WeiWei Coronation,have a feeling much tougher to watch and on Chinese govt/system. As Guardian piece said about 76 days"This could be a condition of access; there is little here that the Chinese government might object to being seen."

Can you spell government censorship?...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 1 February 2021]

Yeah, this "documentary" was a swing and a miss. Talk about painting a picture more pretty than it it is supposed to be. I mean, a Chinese produced "documentary" about the Covid-19 situation within the first 76 days following the start of the outbreak. Nah, that doesn't even fly.

I made it a little more than half way through, with about 40 minutes left to watch, and I gave up. I just got up and walked out on the movie. This was a rather pointless and incredibly slow-paced movie. "Documentary"? I think not.

This was, at best, a polished and shined up presentation of how the situation was in Wuhan. I simply do not believe that a hospital would be that calm, tranquil and in control of a situation that had escalated so much out of control and was affecting the entire world. I am pretty sure that writer and director Hao Wu has been told what to show and how to show it by the Chinese government here. It was just way too rosy red and all floating on Cloud 9.

There was absolutely no entertainment value for me in "76 Days", which was a shame, because I had initially thought that this documentary drama could possibly be an interesting watch. I mean, with the premise of following in the wake of the outbreak, everything was lined up for something entertaining, if not something great.

But the ball was tossed and directors Weixi Chen and Hao Wu swung, and missed by a lot, a whole lot.

I am rating "76 Days" a generous two out of ten stars, solely for the production value and the idea behind the storyline. But this kind of propaganda does not prove to be worthy of being proper entertainment.