Oh Freddy Wiseman...

Hospital(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
The mundane and the beautiful. There are some "scenes" that take too long, but that's fine because in order for this to be a complete portrait of hospital life, you must show the monotony that doctors and nurses must experience since it is their work and all work can become monotonous. It's heart-breaking to see a man being so embarassed and ashamed for going to the doctor to see if he has testicular cancer that he almost bursts into tears. There are a lot memorable moments that Wiseman allows the viewer to see. One memorable "scene" is where a man who has taken an unknown pill fears that he is going to die. A user on IMDb said the "scene" was unnecessary because it is used for comedic effect, but I was honestly scared that the guy might have died even if the doctor kept reassuring him that he wasn't going to. His fear is so real that you can't help, but wonder if he will in fact die or not. He then throws up in a room, which is disgusting to see, but it is necessary to see it. My favorite moments were when loved ones of the patients came to see them and started showing affection towards them. One lovely, but horrifying scene is of a man who has been stabbed in the throat reaching out towards his lover's hand to hold it. Another moment that is both heart-breaking and uplifting is of a daughter seeing her mother as doctors try to restore her health and she goes over and strokes her head, kisses her on the chin with tears in her eyes. It's moments like these that provide warmth and reassurance that we're a flawed species, but we're still good at heart. This film shows that we all need individuals to help us out sometimes even if we're ashamed or too proud to get this help. The only Wiseman film that has rubbed me the wrong way was High School because it felt like he was critical of the people on screen and that just seems sleazy for a documentarian to do. It's easy to show the worst of people, but it's definately harder and more rewarding to show the beauty of an ugly situation. Amazing stuff.
**** out of ****