Documentaries

The Lion in the House

Documentaries

This is a difficult film to write about. I don’t feel like I’ll be able to do it justice, but I want to talk about it anyway. I’ve had some horrified reactions from family and friends when I’ve recommended this documentary. Everyone thinks I’m weird for willingly watching a film about paediatric cancer, but I don’t agree. I absolutely understand why a lot of people would want to avoid it; to be honest, it’s heartbreaking – but I think there’s a lot to learn from it. It’s in two parts and both parts are two hours long so it’s pretty hefty stuff, especially considering it’s subject matter. It’s emotionally exhausting to watch so I wouldn’t advise watching it all in one sitting, but there is so much to take away from this beautiful film.

We’re introduced to five kids living in Ohio, all suffering from cancer. There’s Tim, Justin, Alexandra, Jen and Alex. We get a close look at their lives, their families and their personalities and get to know each of them well enough that when something bad happens, it is utterly devastating. Although the film is centered around one of the most terrifying things that can happen to a family and there’s a lot of sorrow, there are light-hearted moments too and the film is incredibly matter-of-fact. They don’t try to hide anything; so much of it is uncomfortable, painful and difficult to watch and we see some truly harrowing moments, but this only highlights the courage of both the children and the parents. Obviously every single person in this documentary is unforgettable, but Alexandra’s mother is a real stand-out. She manages to deal with an unimaginable situation with humour and honesty and always does her best to advocate for her daughter. We hear from the children’s doctors and nurses too, and learn about the difficulties and rewards of working on a children’s cancer ward. A hard-hitting moment in the film is when, during a briefing, a doctor reads out an excerpt from Albert Camus’ The Plague in lieu of a talk on Leukemia which accurately describes the horror of watching children suffering and perhaps explains why some medical professionals devote themselves to the care of these patients.

This is a beautifully made, honest film. It’s stayed with me since the first day I watched it and I genuinely feel that it’s changed me as a person. One of the reasons myself and so many others watch documentaries is because they open our minds to lives completely different to our own and help us build empathy. This film does just that, and although it’s a hard watch it’s really important. It gave me an understanding and appreciation for how humans cope in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. These stories need to be heard, so I’m going to keep talking about it.

Watch The Lion in the House on Neftlix

Dark Tourist (2018)

Documentaries

Did anyone else take it as a personal insult when Louis Theroux left Netflix? As an obsessive Louis Theroux fan and documentary-watcher, I actually felt hurt. I probably average one Louis Theroux a day at the moment, regardless of the fact I’ve watched every single one of them more times than I’d like to count. My weird anxiety safety behaviour aside, I felt stuck for stuff to watch. As my sister insightfully said during one of our phone calls, documentaries seem like a good pick at the moment considering a lot of us feel like we’re living in a dystopian novel. I agreed because it seemed like a good excuse for my relentless doc watching that started long before the pandemic – I’m not weird!! It’s normal!! I genuinely think there is truth to what she said. More than ever, I’d much rather whack a documentary on while I dither away doing my various pandemic activities; tidying my room, baking, cooking dinner, compulsively making soup, etc.

With Louis gone, I had to find something slightly more casual than your standard Netflix true crime documentary series to watch. I adore true crime, (who doesn’t), but sometimes I struggle to concentrate on what’s going on whilst I’m busy doing other stuff. I needed something exciting and weird, but something a little less serious. This is where my boyfriend comes in with Dark Tourist, a one-season series following New Zealander David Farrier as he goes to bizarre places all over the world that attract “dark tourists” – travelers who are attracted by death and tragedy. I’d heard of the docu-series but never got around to watching it – why watch something new when there’s like a hundred other documentaries that you already know you like????? Seems weird, but I went along with my boyfriend’s suggestion and we watched it… and I LOVED it. A big joke in the series is that David Farrier is a Louis Theroux wannabe, but I really didn’t see this. Yeah, he’s tall and dark haired and wears glasses, but I think he’s a good journalist in his own right and I found him fun to watch. There’s something really endearing about the way he just goes with the flow and lets himself be carried away, taking part in a voodoo ceremony, – where he gets covered in a dead bird’s blood and a tantalising gin-saliva mix – joining in with the Ma’nene funeral rite in Southeast Asia, and injuring himself on a mirror in his hotel room (a highlight). He’s soft-spoken and funny and actually quite ballsy, doing a couple of really questionable things which I won’t detail here.

Some critics said the series is pretty shallow. I agree that it’s not overly poignant but it’s escapism I’m looking for here, and when there are moments that are touching, they really pay off because you aren’t expecting them. There’s a particular moment when David swims in a radioactive lake to look out for. I think this series really works because Farrier isn’t too probing with his questions, and because he’s not, as an audience – apart from a few parts – we kind of just accept a lot of the things we’re seeing. It’s incredibly non-judgmental and that’s one of the reasons I like it. It’s not unlike Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends which I absolutely adore. Farrier meets a lot of characters, all of whom are eccentric, funny or interesting. Dark Tourist definitely satisfies the side of all of us that’s intrigued by the darker sides of life, as well as showing us different communities through a non-judgmental lens.

*you can watch this on Netflix.

Meg Vodrey