Change Your Image
karin-mika
Reviews
At Sachem Farm (1998)
terrific movie
Very few movies stay with me, but from the opening scene, I knew this one would be with me. From the very first scene complete with appropriate background music, I knew this movie would be something special. It is not so much that this movie teaches a lesson about introspection and what should be appreciated, it is how the movie does it without pronouncements and without the customary selling points that we expect to see in modern movies (i.e, gratuitous sex or murder scenes). The character of Uncle Cullen is terrific and brings everything together. As soon as I finished the movie, I wanted to watch it all over again and have everyone else see it. I'm not sure how it struck other people, but for anyone who has ever wondered about what he/she does from day to day and why it is so important, this is essential viewing.
Wit (2001)
A heart wrenching movie
I would think that anyone who has ever dealt with cancer would find him or herself weeping at the end of the film. The movie is very poignant irrespective of cancer, but cancer patients and caregivers will find especially poignant the characterizations of doctors, nurses, and the whole treatment experience. Much of the poignancy comes from the accuracy of the characters, the treatment experience, and all of the emotions that go along with it. It was especially intriguing to me how well the movie depicted the difference between "researchers" and "clinicians," and how the movie demonstrated how many doctors view treatment in terms of how the overall base of knowledge in medicine is advanced.... despite the ultimate outcome for the patient. As the parent of a child treated for leukemia, I could relate to the differences between health care professionals in terms of those who treat the patient, and those who apply the protocol. Interestingly, both of these types have "healing" as the basis of their motivation, and the movie left me without the ability to condemn those who appear to adhere to science over compassion.