This documentary fascinated me from start to finish. I really liked the edit and the music. The documentary has a nice tempo and never a dull moment.
Watching this documentary gave me a few nice insights. The quest in the west to gain as much freedom as possible has gone too far. We gain the freedom by distancing ourselves from other people. We can do this because we are less and less dependent on relatives and our local community. With the wealth we got in the West we can buy the things we need. For example, old people no longer depend on their children, but on professional services (which we pay for).
People also tend to take the easiest and most comfortable way of doing things. It's way more comfortable to be with yourself and don't be bothered by others (This is something that hits close to home). With others you'll get criticism, change of rejection and you'll get discussions. It's also more comfortable to have shallow relationships on social media than to expose yourself to somebody in real life.
Some reviewers talk about the lack of information in this documentary. You will get some facts and statistics, but this documentary also creates a kind of feeling with the images you ll see. For example, it's hard to talk about loneliness. But the documentary is doing a good job of get a feeling of loneliness.
Another reviewer didn't get the point of the sperm-bank and the Swedish surgeon based in Ethiopia. The voice over will make some links, but sometimes you have make the links yourself. The sperm-bank was used to create a feeling: the sadness of it all. Instead of working hard for a relationship where you get to the point of trying to make a baby together, a man is masturbating alone in a white room and a girl is inseminating herself, also alone. Much more efficient, safe, secure etc. etc., but also boring and without the personal connection between two people.
The scenes of the surgeon in Ethiopia I find a bit too shocking myself. The scenes give you the feeling of the community who helps the ones in need. Instead of an anonymous ambulance who drives someone to the hospital, relatives, friends and/or neighbours lift the wounded person to the hospital. The ambulance is much more efficient and save, but the old fashion way brings a lot more bonding between people. The scene where the surgeon talks about the household stuff he used to operate, shows us the creativity that is needed to survive. And because in the west everything is so bureaucratic and written down in procedures, it's a lot more boring. To feel alive we need to be able to be creative in our lives. Not only in our free time, but also in our work. Healthcare is much better in the West but it comes with a price. Just like all the freedom and wealth we have.
