Life According to Sam

2013

1h 34m

Documentary

List

100%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

After they learn that their only child has progeria, Drs. Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns set up a foundation and oversee the development of an experimental drug to treat the rare disorder.

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Audience Member

The greatest 01 hour: and 34 minutes with real footage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i never watched this, this review is a mistake i cant figure out how to remove

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Hannah T.

This documentary. is disturbing, but at the same time, it is a very interesting. It is heartbreaking that kids with Progeria never get to look like an average kid and they die at 13, or in Sam's case 17. But the movie ends in a positive note, because Sam's mother discovers a treatment for her sons condition. In this documentary, you see many kids with Progeria. At one point, one of Sam's mom patients passes away, and Sam says that many of his friends have died. At the end, they show His date of birth to his to the day he died. This movie showed when sam was a little baby until he was 16. I felt like Sam was speaking to me.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/22/19

Full Review

Audience Member

I felt like I could reach out and touch Sam. This film makes you consider how your life is measured. Undoubtedly one of my favorite documentaries.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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william s

Having never seen this doc before now and already knowing Sam's story,the movie is spot om showing a grace,warmth and charm that this remarkable young man had.I wish before I die that I have a tenth of the outlook on life this beautiful young man showed.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

matthew b

What a remarkable boy that Sam Berns was. Life According to Sam tells the story about Sam Berns when he had progeria, a progressive aging disorder so rare that fewer than 250 children in the world had it at the time. Little was known about the disease, and all children with progeria died of heart attack or stroke at an average age of 13. Told there was no treatment or cure, they refused to accept that as the final verdict. Now normally I'm not such a big fan of documentary's but a couple of times I will find a interesting and enjoyable one time to time, but I don't really watch that much Documentary's. But what really got me interested in Life According to Sam is the fact when Sam Berns sadly passed away in January 2014 and I heard nothing but great and inspiring things from this kid and a Documentary about him made me inserted to know more from Sam and boy dose this Documentary do it well. I won't lie but this movie or Documentary if you like to call almost brought me into little tears, yeah I know it's not very manly to admit cracking up in a couple of scenes but since I've always got to be honest when it comes to movie I won't lie that this only most brought me into tears. Sean Fine and Andrea Nix did a excellent job directing this Documentary with much care and effort that made this more effective to me. For problems I didn't really have any to be honest. And the reason why I'm not going to give it 5/5 start's is because it's great but not on the level of oh my god this is amazing 5/5 star's, but it's still good without a doubt and if you had the chance to watch this then go ahead it may not be a easy watch sometimes but it's still worth checking.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Dorothy Rabinowitz

Wall Street Journal

The story of these efforts, which have produced promising results, is itself remarkable, though nothing in this documentary equals the portrait of the unforgettable son they produced.

Oct 18, 2013

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Los Angeles Times

This is the straightforward story of a family facing adversity head-on and making inroads against a rare disease.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 18, 2013

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

Variety

A straightforward, solidly crafted inspirational tale that should appeal to quality broadcasters.

Feb 5, 2013

Full Review

Bernard Boo

Way Too Indie

Directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine have crafted an inspirational, triumphant, and uplifting tale that educates as it stirs your emotions. Sam and his family are beautiful, beautiful people, and their unflinching optimism is awe-inspiring.

Rated: 8/10

Apr 15, 2019

Full Review

Ty Landis

Movie Mezzanine

Relatable and empathetic.

Rated: B

Feb 5, 2014

Full Review

Adrienne Johnson

News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)

Thankfully, the documentary is realistic; it shows that there's a long road to that kind of ending. But it also shows that the ending isn't as important as the moment.

Oct 23, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

After they learn that their only child has progeria, Drs. Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns set up a foundation and oversee the development of an experimental drug to treat the rare disorder.

Director: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix
Producer: Sheila Nevins, Nancy Abraham
Production Co: Home Box Office (HBO)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 31, 2014
Runtime: 1h 34m

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