by John Zenoni
I'm not really sure what kind of reaction this review will provoke due to the topic but ‘The First Wave’, regardless of how you feel about the impact of COVID-19, is definitely a gripping documentary. In an interview I read with director Matthew Heineman, he stated that he wanted to focus on - in real time - what was going with health care workers during the early stages of the pandemic in Queens, NY. So, he sought approval from a hospital (Long Island Jewish Medical Center) to follow several health care workers and patients during the critical period of the virus as it ravaged New York. The footage that he captures is absolutely terrifying when you see and hear what the staff in the hospitals had to deal with at the height of the infection on the citizens of the city.
The documentary follows nurses, physicians and others and shows the toll the virus took not only on the patients, of course, but also on those who worked hard to try and keep the patients alive and the virus from spreading. It's absolutely heartbreaking as many, many are lost while fortunately there are some who were fortunate enough to survive. But it was not easy and the documentary does a great job of showing the overall impact of the virus.
One of the physicians the film follows is a young woman who is especially hurt by the fact that the virus seems to be hitting the poor and those in the minority communities harder. At the same time that she's struggling with the pandemic, she lends her voice to the outrage of the George Floyd killing and marches in protest over that as well. The viewer gets to see what emotional turmoil this young lady goes through - both as a medical doctor and as a human being. But she proves to be very strong and she's someone to be admired.
This is a very intense, thought-provoking film that all should watch!
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