I watched this documentary on its opening weekend with an old school friend who went to the same medical college where this film is set in and where the majority of this film's story occurs. I basically got a live commentary from my friend on the Who's Who of some of the medical staff, which was really insightful and for which I am very grateful.
This documentary mainly evolves around four ordinary inpatients and their families at the Ostetrics department of the University hospital, (in fact, all of the patients are rural farming families in Hubei Province). The patients encounter various problems and difficulties as their respective due dates draw nearer, which present bigger and tougher dilemmas for their husbands. The struggles clearly have enormous impacts on these families, and the film does not shy away from revealing the full magnitude of those difficulties, be that health-oriented or fiscal, nor the anxieties of the expectant mothers and fathers-to-be. It's hard for me, sitting in a comfy cinema seat, to sit through the rougher parts of the story, as hardened grown men were reduced to hard sobbing over seemingly insurmountable financial woes facing their wives' approaching child birth.
The editing is fairly standard and does not give the pretense of being narratively driven. This is more of an observation of fragments of people's lives in and outside the hospital ward. The main characters - four inpatients and their families - are shown in no particular sequential order. The medical orderlies, with one doctor in particular, command respect through their professionalism and sometimes inspiring speeches. The camera-work is also pretty straightforward for documentaries of this type and an apt choice given that by consistently using third-person it considerably enhances immersion on the part of the viewer. Also, given that this is a film about child birth, there is an actual uncensored child birth scene, so be warned, as such graphic content may not be everyone's cup of tea. The best part of this film is of course the way free flowing emotions are running wild. The truthfulness of the documentary lends power to creating dramatic tension the type of which rarely seen so convincingly in narrative cinema, and I am happy to report that I've had a hugely engaging experience.
8/10
This documentary mainly evolves around four ordinary inpatients and their families at the Ostetrics department of the University hospital, (in fact, all of the patients are rural farming families in Hubei Province). The patients encounter various problems and difficulties as their respective due dates draw nearer, which present bigger and tougher dilemmas for their husbands. The struggles clearly have enormous impacts on these families, and the film does not shy away from revealing the full magnitude of those difficulties, be that health-oriented or fiscal, nor the anxieties of the expectant mothers and fathers-to-be. It's hard for me, sitting in a comfy cinema seat, to sit through the rougher parts of the story, as hardened grown men were reduced to hard sobbing over seemingly insurmountable financial woes facing their wives' approaching child birth.
The editing is fairly standard and does not give the pretense of being narratively driven. This is more of an observation of fragments of people's lives in and outside the hospital ward. The main characters - four inpatients and their families - are shown in no particular sequential order. The medical orderlies, with one doctor in particular, command respect through their professionalism and sometimes inspiring speeches. The camera-work is also pretty straightforward for documentaries of this type and an apt choice given that by consistently using third-person it considerably enhances immersion on the part of the viewer. Also, given that this is a film about child birth, there is an actual uncensored child birth scene, so be warned, as such graphic content may not be everyone's cup of tea. The best part of this film is of course the way free flowing emotions are running wild. The truthfulness of the documentary lends power to creating dramatic tension the type of which rarely seen so convincingly in narrative cinema, and I am happy to report that I've had a hugely engaging experience.
8/10
