The Clinic

Insightful, sharp and subtle are the three words that most aptly describe the documentary film and its subject matter. The execution is calm and exhibits a maturity that allows it to be an impactful product without demanding attention vociferously. The film engages with a needle exchange facility in California that also gives basic medical aid and assistance to those whose bodies have been affected by substance abuse.

The narrative succeeds at being calm, yet deeply forceful in making its point simply because it does not strive for an overarching meaning for its existence, but instead tells its truth as it is. The subject is powerful, the story hard-hitting. The camerawork is simple, but precisely what this particular story needs. The images are chosen intelligently to allow the narrative to disconcert the viewer without being sensationally graphic. It further engages with health and survival with the right balance of being clinical and non-participatory, yet sensitive.

Staying completely honest and sincere to a particular event or occurrence makes it all the more poignant and moving which is what The Clinic achieves most effortlessly. Through an objective representation of an aspect of the society we inhabit, it provides a meaningful narrative about life and existence.