Review

I feel the pressure of writing some kind of review of the documentary, Smiling in a War Zone, I watched this Friday, since I brought it up. So here goes.

I heard that it got some bad reviews on TV the day before but I haven't seen the review myself so I can't really object to any specific complaints. I can see how someone would be unimpressed by it, and I had a few bad reactions to the poor video qualities, embaressing "special effects" and the occasional unability to keep a clear perspective. It felt as if she wanted to say so many things with the documentary that some things became a bit redundant when she didn't take the time to explain her point thurully.

But.... to give it a two out of five? To me that just feels like the person didn't understand the point of the movie, which wasn't to do a high quality documentary but something completely different. The fact that this woman spent a year of her life, a fortune that she didn't even have and risked her own life to be able to fulfill one young woman's wish of flying is enough to give it at least three points. I mean, are we so spoiled with special effects and perfectly scripted and orchestrated documentaries that we fail to appreciate a genuin effort and inspirational message just because it doesn't come in a golden wrapper? I think it is sad.

To me this documentary represents a brave woman with a message that becomes a truth rather than a cliché through the journey that she makes. A message that you really can do anything you want if you just put your mind to it. And that's good media.