The Volunteers

I find myself, having just finished watching this film, feeling blessed beyond measure. I live my life, in comfort and ease. So few worries. SO do these volunteer medics, until they leave of their own accord and volunteer in the midst of war, with no benefits, no pay, nothing. Just a set of memories that will both haunt and comfort them. Memories of those who could not be saved, and those who were.

The storyteller brought us in through his eyes and shared the story without blinders, but with the blinding truth. I will be forever changed by what I saw.

"One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic" - Josef Stalin

Everyday in 2016-2018 you could turn on the news and hear about an explosion maiming civilians in Syria. Nameless figures suffering atrocities are a common facet of our media and it's easy to forgive apathy. Seeing this documentary adds faces, names, stories to these poor souls. This documentary shows a borderline-suicidal journey to being a combat medic in Syria. This movie is unfiltered; I shudder to think about the horrors we are spared if it is filtered. The editing is compelling and the pace is the perfect mix of action and suspense.

I was able to learn so much from this documentary. The footage is very real and raw. It really tugs your heart strings watching what these people have to go through. I have a whole new respect for all of these people. It just goes to show that there are angels among us.

This is an amazing documentary, the story of an LA surfer who risks his life and his personal happiness back home to help the Kurds in Syria battle ISIS by joining a small team of medics from Western countires.

There's something unusually raw and immediate about the real-life battle sequences. Probably because the fighters depicted are not regular US military, and don't have the same training and mannerisms.

They can be joking around while bullets are wizzing over their heads. Everything is improvised; the usual military structure is absent. If comrades get in trouble, they have to make their own ethical decisions about risking their lives to rescue them. No commander is there to give them orders. It humanizes them more completely and raises the stakes when you realize that any one of them can be dead at any time.

We don't get a lot of context, though. Some other Americans appear, as fighters, not medics, but they don't seem to be part of the US military, which does have a presence in the region.

Do these people ever coordinate or communicate with the US military? Are the Westerners breaking their countries' laws to be there? If they get in trouble, can they call their embassy for help? (Which becomes a germane question near the end of the story.)

Note that since this documentary was made, in 2017, the Kurds have been very successful, and ISIS has been driven into a few remnant pockets. Given recent developments in Syria, a follow up documentary would be valuable.

It's taken me this long to watch it simply because it's hard to find, but it's on Kanopy now (free/ad free, you just need a library card.)

Gruesome footage. Questionable motives from Hagg. Did he really go to tell the stories of Syrians?

Screenplay...................................... 3 / 10 Interviews........................................ 2 Visuals................................................ 7 Sound................................................... 3 Editing................................................ 2 Music....................................................... 1 Timeless Utility................................. 6 Total.................................................... 24 / 70 ~= 3.4 (which I rounded to 3) Verdict................................................. Avoid.