Fauci

This is an important film, because the main subject is in some ways, NOT Dr. Anthony Fauci, but the concept of, and the acceptance of, science.

This doc includes a large part of the HIV/AIDS controversy, and Dr. Fauci's part in bringing it into the daynight for inspection. Coincidentally enough, this quote is from that era:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'." -Isaac Asimov, January 21, 1980.

Go see this film, and make your own judgements. It is well-made, and important!

This was a very uncomfortable sort of watch.

It seems an odd time to be telling the life story of a man like Fauci, mainly because he is still in the midst of some of the most important events in his life. It's like a Churchill documentary being made during WW2. Not really wrong, just incomplete and perhaps inappropriate timing.

My discomfort with this film really rests in some of the interview choices. Lots of appealing to authority. This film picks its interviews the same way I pick references for my resume: with great caution. The difference being that all parties involved know that a job applicant is meant to sell themselves. Anthony Fauci is without doubt an fascinating and worthy person to be the subject of a biography, so why do I feel like I'm being sold something here?

This excellent documentary is unlikely to quiet the hate propaganda and misinformation we've seen directed toward Dr. Fauci and his family. It does a great job, however, at exposing the facts of his long public service to the health of our country. This film reveals his un-biased public service to the country regardless of which political parties sit in the oval office or dominate U. S. Congress. An interesting and well-done glimpse into the many challenges ALL public health agencies across the globe have faced for decades. (If we could develop vaccines for ignorance & snap judgments, public health would also be improved!) This film reminds us how much we (all humans) need true public servants like Dr. Fauci to protect us from political gamesmanship & ulterior motives. Great vintage footage, interviews, pacing & lighting -- easy to watch & I wanted to know more when it was finished!

So you're sifting through the reviews and you find yourself confused. Many reviews suggest that it is ignorant and zombie like to called Fauci 1/10, but these same reviews give Fauci 10/10 as if it's the most mindblowing thing ever. Hypocritical, to say the least; perhaps even offensive how some belittle other reviews based on science. Fauci himself has unquestioningly become a controversial man, and I'll admit my view on him isn't ver favorable coming into the documentary, but for the sake of being fair I will grade the documentary, not Fauci himself.

The documentary does take a positive approach to Fauci which is fine, a documentary that speaks of Abraham Lincoln in a positive light does not mean it's bad documentary. The difference is a documentary on Lincoln has the benefit of hindsight and can look back on the life of Lincoln - removed from any contemporary feelings. The Fauci documentary is not. It is well produced which is why I find it naive to call it a 1 or 2 star production, but because of the timing it feels more like a sales advertisement for a car rather than a documentary. It did shed some light on a few of Fauci's more controversial moments, but refuses to take a truly deep and even-handed look at any of the major points in his life. That's why this documentary feels weird, it feels more like a propaganda piece than a documentary; maybe I'm wrong but that's how it comes across especially when their interview selections are more people of authority and not too much of those average Joe's who were greatly affected by Fauci (for better or worse). So in the end, this is a well produced but awkward documentary that should have waited and instead unfortunately calls into question National Geographic's ability to look at the bigger picture.

Dr. Fauci played an important role in fight against two pandemics - HIV and COVID-19. His contributions to translating scientific findings for public health purposes is second to none. This biography documents his contributions excellently! As a society we are truly blessed to have leaders like Fauci who facilitated the search for treatment as well as prevention of HIV infection, and during the COVID pandemic in developing a government vaccine strategy that helped us go from virus discovery to mass-scale vaccinations in less than 1 year - something mankind never accomplished before.

A lot of the other reviews expect a documentary to be balanced - I don't see the need for that. Most documentaries highlight the views of the filmmaker. Even if the filmmakers/ producers try to be unbiased, it is truly a difficult task to find major flaws in the life of someone who has tirelessly worked for public good for several decades.