Thanks to Vimeo, I do find myself watching a lot of short films, and a big proportion of them seem to be documentary shorts. In doing so it is depressing just how many I have seen that focus on veterans who are making recoveries and starting a new chapter of their lives free of limbs or functions due to their injuries. The Next Part is another film of this ilk, and as such I did enter it with a certain amount of reluctance due to how very familiar it all felt – for sure the injured are in need of support and care, but me watching another film confirming that will not necessarily bring around too much change in and of itself.
From the start though, The Next part does take a good approach to the subject though. It is a slow start but we see Kathleen unloading a truck, which puts her in the role of carer in a very clear visual way. For a large section, we do see the challenge through her contributions, and the film lets her address the camera directly while also getting some good candid shots of her and Aaron together. This gives the film a nicely observational tone, however the flipside of that is that it almost feels too passive in some ways. So in terms of the story of them fighting odds to try to conceive before their window closes due to treatment, it doesn't really feel as urgent or as triumphant as it really should. Personally I preferred the more low-key approach, but it does work against the trust of the story in other ways.
Ultimately, The Next Part is a very worthy film, and it does have a very balanced, restrained, and respectful tone that I wish more films like it also had. However it doesn't really do enough to stand out in a (tragically) crowded market-place, and the same approach that I liked, also prevents it really drawing the viewer into the urgency and stresses of their personal situation.
From the start though, The Next part does take a good approach to the subject though. It is a slow start but we see Kathleen unloading a truck, which puts her in the role of carer in a very clear visual way. For a large section, we do see the challenge through her contributions, and the film lets her address the camera directly while also getting some good candid shots of her and Aaron together. This gives the film a nicely observational tone, however the flipside of that is that it almost feels too passive in some ways. So in terms of the story of them fighting odds to try to conceive before their window closes due to treatment, it doesn't really feel as urgent or as triumphant as it really should. Personally I preferred the more low-key approach, but it does work against the trust of the story in other ways.
Ultimately, The Next Part is a very worthy film, and it does have a very balanced, restrained, and respectful tone that I wish more films like it also had. However it doesn't really do enough to stand out in a (tragically) crowded market-place, and the same approach that I liked, also prevents it really drawing the viewer into the urgency and stresses of their personal situation.