Gruesome footage. Questionable motives from Hagg. Did he really go to tell the stories of Syrians?

Screenplay...................................... 3 / 10 Interviews........................................ 2 Visuals................................................ 7 Sound................................................... 3 Editing................................................ 2 Music....................................................... 1 Timeless Utility................................. 6 Total.................................................... 24 / 70 ~= 3.4 (which I rounded to 3) Verdict................................................. Avoid.

"One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic" - Josef Stalin

Everyday in 2016-2018 you could turn on the news and hear about an explosion maiming civilians in Syria. Nameless figures suffering atrocities are a common facet of our media and it's easy to forgive apathy. Seeing this documentary adds faces, names, stories to these poor souls. This documentary shows a borderline-suicidal journey to being a combat medic in Syria. This movie is unfiltered; I shudder to think about the horrors we are spared if it is filtered. The editing is compelling and the pace is the perfect mix of action and suspense.

I'm not sure I have words to express the plethora of emotions I experienced while watching this harrowing documentary. It makes all those GoPro videos of sky divers and wave riders seem utterly ridiculous. Think of all the found footage/point of view movies you've seen. At first, your brain won't let you believe this is real life. Eventually, you come to realize it is real, and the horror of war is upon you, in your face and in your brain. This is happening OUT THERE right now, as you sit in front of your computer screen or on your phone, there are people fighting, and dying, and we are getting a front row seat to the insanity.

I am not sure how I feel about River Rainbow. Is he a hero for developing this project, for the work he did, for the lives he saved? Or is he a jerk for leaving his family, his long suffering wife, and his babies, forcing them to fend for themselves while he chased his dream? I figure he's a little of both. In the end, this documentary is jaw dropping and awe inspiring. It's a must-see. A must-talk-about- afterwards. A piece of work that makes you realize how shameful complaining about the traffic is or how cool it is to have the new $1000 iPhone. Watch this documentary, and let it sink into your bones. The feeling won't soon go away, and truthfully, it shouldn't.

Well done, sir. Well done.