It's been a while since I've sat down and watched a new doc, and I thought that the subject material for My Flesh and Blood was incredibly intriguing. The film follows super mom Susan Todd who has 13 children, 11 of whom are adopted, 9 of whom have special needs. Even though the film boasts some impressive awards, I was worried that the director would apply some lazy film making. Let's face it, with a film description like that, you're automatically curious. I have to say though, the director Jonathan Karsh did an amazing job telling the story through the excellent employment of visual effects and sound.

This film was made in 2003 and unfortunately it's very obvious. The quality was a bit distracting for me...I felt like the color wasn't the best and whatever it is they shot with just didn't yield a professional result. There were no formal interviews or anything...all of the characters spoke to the camera in their natural settings. I think that this was necessary because we could still hear all of the constant noise from the 9 or 10 other people in the background. We were brought into their world of chaos and lack of peace and quiet really effectively. They just weren't exactly shooting on Canon's new line of dslrs. :) However Karsh used a very interesting technique to switch between the different acts. He used video of the kids doing things like swimming or playing...scenes where they were obviously happy and having a good time, but he slowed it down to make it look really beautiful. In contrast, he added some slow, eerie music behind this visual which gave you the sense of an impending sadness. It was a creepy score that made you appreciate their happiness despite their disability, yet it was like you couldn't stop your heart from aching for them. It was a really intriguing technique that was incredibly successful.

As far as the overall mood of them film, it was cut in a way that really made you feel so sorry for these kiddos. They live in this big family on the edge of dysfunction, but still make it work. You can tell that it's just so hard for the people who don't have disabilities to cope. I sat on the couch watching and eating my whataburger feeling like a real jerk for not having the level of selflessness this family had for one another as they ate a whole crate of ramen noodles happy to just be in each other's presence. I think I was expecting a happy go lucky movie that made me feel like there was still some hope left for humanity (joking....) but it really just made me sad. I can't put my finger on why.

In the film, one of the children of the family passes away. I'm not going to say which one, but the way the experience was cut was really brilliant. There was a lack of dialogue...you didn't know for sure what was happening, and you didn't know for sure which child passed away until after the funeral. It was an amazing scene...one of the better ones I think I've ever seen. I may or may not have cried...and let me just say that if I of all people  had infact cried, there was some fantastic film making taking place. And that my friends, is why I love film so much. The ability of a filmmaker to make you feel exactly what he or she wants you through story is an incredible, difficult thing to acheive.

I think that's all I've got. It was a solid film but I definitely had to watch Easy A (now on instant netflix!!) one more time to get me out of the funk I was in. Don't let that last sentence stop you from seeing the movie though. It was a definite testament to the amazing, selfless people who find joy in helping out those who aren't loved by other people in our society.