Collective (2019)
February 5, 2021 7:01 AM - Subscribe

After a tragic fire in the Romanian club "Colectiv" in 2015, burn victims begin dying in hospitals from wounds that were not life threatening, and the resulting public outrage topples the government. This documentary follows the investigative journalists (from a sports daily) and a young pro tem Health Minister as they work to uncover fraud and reform the health care system, even a little bit.

Some documentaries reassure you that the world is better when they’re over (inequity has been exposed); others insist it could be better (call the number in the credits to see how). Collective offers no such palliatives. Instead, it sketches out an honest, affecting, somewhat old-fashioned utopian example of what it takes to make the world better, or at least a little less awful.
-- Manohla Dargis, NYT
This is available for rent; it's not streaming on any service AFAICT.
posted by fleacircus (1 comment total)
 
I saw this on the BBC in the UK. I started watching and thought ‘not sure I can be bothered to watch... maybe just the first 5 minutes and see if it is any good’.

Was absolutely gripped right to the end. By a documentary on Romanian healthcare!

It is really compelling viewing, parts are like a journalism movie like Spotlight or State of Play. Other parts are just so depressing, if you want your faith in human nature to be diminished a bit more, this will do it.

Still, let’s hope the positive reception and acclaim this film has had will lead to longer term change.
posted by ElasticParrot at 9:31 AM on April 3, 2021


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