Documentary Shorts

I have just spent the morning getting emotionally pummeled by these little gems of film making called the documentary shorts.  Join me on a tour of them, won't you? I'm going to spoil them all for you. Most people have no plans to watch these, right?

Joe's Violin - Joe grew up in Warsaw in the 1930's. Need I say more? Are you already crying? You should be. He survived by escaping to the Russian held side of Poland and spending six years in a siberian labor camp. When he was freed the first thing he did was trade a carton of cigarettes for a violin, because he used to love playing violin with his mother, who didn't survive. Now Joe is donating his violin to a school and gets to meet the girl who will now play for him the song that most reminds of his mother.

Extremis - This one is all about the doctors that have to help their patients and the patients' families decide whether or not to get hooked up to a breathing machine at the end of life or just die. A couple of families let you in on their talks with one another as they navigate these difficult waters. Are your eyes leaking? Mine sure were!

4.1 miles - This one starts on a boat and I thought for a second this would be about a sailing race or something. Its about time I got a break, here! But, no! This is a boat captain in Greece who spends every day pulling Syrian refugees, alive and dead out of the water. Have you ever watched people try to resuscitate a four year old drowned child? I have. And I'm sobbing about it.

Watani, My Home - So back in Aleppo, we meet a family that is living in a bombed out building so their dad can be close to the resistance fight. Shocking what these kids have become accustomed to. Their dad is taken by ISIS and believed to be dead and their mother doesn't really care to go on but recognizes the kids need something more so she manages to get them out and accepted into a German refugee program. There is hope for the children but the mom continues to insist she is a dead person. Weeping.

The White Helmets - Hold on, you can't leave Syria, yet! There is more to tell! The White Helmets spend their day rushing to each newly bombed building and pulling people out of the rubble. These guys are brave and optimistic and inspiring with very little reason to be from my weak and coddled perspective. They say every child is their child, every brother, their brother.  Their greatest achievement is pulling a one week old out of the rubble of a building 16 hours after the building fell. They have it all on film thanks to helmet cams they wear. You'll never see anything more tragic and wonderful. I'll never stop crying.

I'm exhausted and frankly, I am one lucky jerk of a person. Maybe I can tone down my complaining a little bit, huh? Just for a couple of days.