Reviews
A Healthy Baby Girl (1997)
Required Viewing for Medical School, and Rightly So!
Judith Helfand's documentary is absolutely incredible. In less than an hour and on a shoestring budget, it accomplishes what many other well-funded and lengthy documentaries cannot: it remains honest and sincere throughout, without ever attempting to admonish or preach to its audience. Helfand's sincerity is what makes this movie such an emotional experience -- she isn't making this movie for us, she's making it for herself, to help her understand and cope with what has happened to her and her family. This documentary was required viewing in my first year of medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, and it deserves to be shown to every medical student in their first year, because it allows us to witness the struggle that many of our patients must undergo daily. By understanding Judith's innermost worries and uncertainties, we can better empathize with all of our patients, who are experiencing these feelings to some degree whenever they set foot in our office. I know that I will be a better doctor for having seen this movie, and there aren't too many movies that I can say that about.