Today's highlight: Life According to Sam (Fine & Nix, 2012), a 90 minute documentary about Sam Berns, today aged 16 and diagnosed with progeria.
It's a moving film that, as a parent, can be quite emotional as one considers that single-minded desire to care for one's children -- thus, to see Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns, and their family rallying around them, both care for their son and race to find a cure for progeria makes for an almost entirely engaging piece. I know I'd like to return to this film again, whether that means re-watching it, writing about it, or reflecting on it, which is inevitable.
Especially because the psychology of Dr. Leslie Gordon is, in particular, fascinating -- I believe that audiences will unconsciously, perhaps, endorse the film because of her appeal, the fact that she is helping so many, living a life of purpose, willing to lose sleep and not feel tired -- in devotion to her family and a cure.
While Sam is the film's hero, the documentary leaves a lot to reconsider in terms of her representation, desire, comments, and action.
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Today was a bit more mellow at the festival ... worked a bit on the Annotated Bibliography of Taiwan Film Studies in the morning and attended the Windrider Forum opening session in the mid-afternoon.
... still one more film on the list today: a midnight screening of S-VHS.
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