Watch The White Helmets on Netflix
Directed by: Orlando von Einsiedel
Rated: --/PG-13
Plot:
This Netflix original documentary follows the volunteer Syrian Civil Defense force that operates in opposition controlled Syria.
Verdict:
I wish this had more of a point. It introduces us to volunteers that have saved thousands of lives by placing their own lives in harm's way, but it doesn't go past that. It presents that fact and that's it. This is helped by the fact that it's only forty minutes long.
It depends.
Review:
These volunteers are either courageous or crazy. Then again they value human life so much they feel compelled to risk their lives. As one volunteer said, he used to bully people but decided it was better to help than hurt.
This needs a focus to pull everything together. It should have focused on one volunteer or one mission and used that to frame the documentary. This is random scenes stitched together of them in the field, training, and one on one interviews.
This documentary could and should have explored the socio-economic setting of Syria to provide context as to why this war exists.
Just filming this is crazy, as bombs and air strikes are going off, but just doing something dangerous isn't enough. This needs to tell a story, and it doesn't do that. This is more of an extended trailer that compels me to research Syria than actually explain it.
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