Joanna

Truly one of the best documentaries I've seen. Ultimate ending. I have no idea how can you make such a sad film with an optimistic feeling... Scenes are cut short, to never fully let you soak in the depth of her condition until the end, and even then the future has been created already with her presence via the messages. I guess everyone is aware of the cancer, what it does physically and mentally, in this film, we can also see what it does to the family, the son and the ultimate aftermath. Your own problems will not seem the same once you will watch this. Prepare yourself for some crying, even you think you are a tough cookie. Life and a movie has never been this close, or this real.

Masterpiece, worth an Oscar.

"Joanna" is a Polish film about a woman who is dying from cancer. It focuses a lot on her relationship with her son (who appears to be about six years-old) as well as a bit less attention on her partner. There really isn't a lot to it--just snippets over a period of months as she sickens and anticipates death. Oddly, despite the super-depressing subject matter, I felt a bit detached from all this--possibly because I went through cancer myself at a young age like the lady in the film. It's well made but it didn't seem to offer much in the way of hope or direction---just a lady going through the motions with her family until she dies.