Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma

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Audience Member This was one of the most beautiful and personal looks at humanitarian work and genocide that I've ever seen. Dr. James Organski served Doctors Without Borders during the famine in Somalia in 1993 and the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. I really appreciate how honest and raw Dr. Orbinski's commentary is in this film. He is unflinching in describing his memories of and emotional responses to the inhumanity and horror that he witnessed. Despite (or perhaps because of) how deeply his experiences affected him personally, he went on to serve as the international President of Doctors without Borders, and accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the organization in 1999.The film itself stays largely away from political analysis, and there is less preaching or moralizing than I expected. It made me question my own indifference to suffering going on outside of my small window of day-to-day experience, and made me do so with curiosity and compassion, rather than guilt. It's really focused on the subjective impressions and imperfect wisdom of one man. I have always wondered what kind of a person one needs to be in order to devote one's life to such a grand and meaningful mission. As an audience, we are given an intimate look at the personality and the driving spirit behind such an individual. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member I encourage anyone to see this documentary, it casts a stark look at the genocide that occurred in Somalia and begs the question how can events like this still happen in today's society? Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member The topic is unquestionably important, but the medium fails completely. This documentary moves at a snail's pace as it tries to articulate concepts that clearly had not yet been articulated when the film was shot. You cannot tell the story until you've written the story. It's never clear what the purpose of this documentary is, or who the target audience is. This film is like a very long and directionless trailer, like an advertisement for Dr Orbinski's yet unpublished book, which we are to believe will be filled with grand revelations on humanitarianism. I certainly hope the book is better. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A heart-stopping experience. One who led an ordinary life during the genocide can't imagine the ordeal. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member [28th Atlantic Film Festival] Wow. There are powerful documentaries, and then there is Triage. Dr. James Orbinski, Nobel Peace Prize winner, essentially narrates and comments on his life as a humanitarian doctor. A man who was in the heart of some of the lowest moments in human civilization in the past century; his descriptions of the genocide in Rwanda were particularly striking. You just can't look away. Orbinski tries to bring attention to the continuing plight in these areas of the world which continues to go unnoticed. You can just see how shaken the man is by the events in his life at times, and hearing these stories is just completely surreal. His message he is working so far on just gets lost at times at the unimaginable horrors humanity is capable of. Truly an awesome film you won't be able to forget. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member An incredibly moving documentary, highly recommended. It's a nice complement to his book "An Imperfect Offering". Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma

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