Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (2008)

In the war-zones of Liberia and Congo, four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.

Director:

Mark N. Hopkins

Stars:

Chris Brasher, Davinder Gill, Tom Krueger

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Chris Brasher	...	Himself
Davinder Gill	...	Himself
Tom Krueger	...	Himself
Chiara Lepora	...	Herself

Storyline

In the war-zones of Liberia and Congo, four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions. With different levels of experience, each volunteer must find their own way to face the challenges, the tough choices, and the limits of their idealism. "Living in Emergency" is a window into the seldom portrayed and less-than glamorous side of humanitarian aid work. It explores a world that is challenging, complex, and fraught with dilemmas - the struggles, both internal and external, that aid workers face when working in war zones and other difficult contexts.

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Plot Keywords:

war zone | doctor | liberia | medical examination | surgical operation | 

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Taglines:

Higher Stakes. Tougher Choices. Medicine like you've never seen it.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official MySpace

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili French

Release Date:

15 January 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Beni, Democratic Republic Of Congo

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Floor Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, "MSF") is an independent medical relief agency, offering assistance to populations in crisis irrespective of race, religion, creed, or politics. Established in 1971, it has become the world's largest independent provider of emergency medical relief, operating in over 70 countries throughout the world. In 1999 it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its pioneering humanitarian work.

User Reviews

Is there a more important movie out there about humanity?

What's the goal of a documentary? If it's to capture the truth that the principals face, then this movie succeeds greatly. That's not quite enough for me - maybe I've watched too many normal movies. I wish the narrative had been a little stronger, for the last 10-15 minutes dragged, as maybe filming had to end, but no real event dovetailed with that. So the story such as it is ends in a very real way, but it's not memorably climactic or moving, especially compared to the events depicted earlier, which are stunning, shocking, moving.

This is an extremely graphic movie. I can't imagine anyone not turning away during at least two scenes. And it's emotionally raw - I have never seen anything so honest or devastating as this one person's pain. I'd sit through a bad movie just to watch that minute, and I thank the filmmakers for not building up that moment with music or (hopefully) other manipulations.