Saving Face (2012)
**** (out of 4)
Shocking and depressing documentary taking a look at the acid attacks in Pakistan, which usually happen to women and by the hands of those closest to them. SAVING FACE is a terrific documentary and certainly one of the most shocking I've seen but at the same time it's hard to really recommend it because of how depressing it actually is. It's just so shocking to see a place where this type of thing happens on a regular basis but I'm sure the counter argument would be that certain places, ala America, have much more domestic murders than the acid attacks in Pakistan. Either way, seeing the aftermath of these attacks are pretty hard to watch and the documentary centers on a surgeon who tries to help some of the women by working on their faces. It's even more shocking to see that these type of attacks happen so much that there was a special hospital built just for these cases. We hear the stories of several women who were attacked by men, mainly their husbands for a wide range of reasons including the women wanting a divorce or the women simply not doing something the husband wanted. Hearing these stories are just downright scary and seeing how much pain the women must deal with by simply looking the way they do have having people constantly looking at them. SAVING FACE certainly tells a story that you won't forget and we even get to hear by a couple of the men accused of the crime and it's almost as shocking trying to hear their side of the story.
