L'Odyssée du Dr. Bethun

"Bethune" is a made for TV movie about the career of Dr. Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor and political activist. It follows him from his early days as a doctor to his early death saving injured Chinese communists during their long revolution.

In the summary, I say 'the first of two' because Donald Sutherland later reprised this same role in the film "Bethune: The Making of a Hero". Both films are essentially the same story, though there are a few differences. First, the earlier film has a much cheaper look to it and looks more like a TV show. Second, the second one tends to focus more on the human side of Bethune...whereas the first seems more like he is some sort of saint. As a result, I prefer the second film. Oh, and while I think about it, there also is a third film, a documentary, made in Canada though Donald Sutherland is not in this film.

The film starts at the end of Bethune's life, in 1939. He's injured while operating and soon dies of septic shock. But in the meantime, the movie bounces back to the 1920s and follows him during his political transformation. First, he embraces socialism, as he cannot abide that the poor are given inferior treatment or are denied it simply because they cannot afford it. Later, he becomes a communist and volunteers his medical services during the Spanish Civil War as well as with the Chinese communist army under Chairman Mao.

While VERY episodic, this is a mildly interesting film. But like the second version, I felt a tad annoyed that the movie decried the evils of fascism but there is no commentary at all about the many millions killed by Mao and the like. Of course, Bethune did not know about this....his exposure to Stalinism and Maoism were long before the world knew about the butchery which accompanied them. I did not expect this to be planted in the movie (after all, the story ends in 1939), but to never mention this in an epilogue of some type seems disingenuous.

Overall, a good film but one which doesn't quite hit the mark like the later film in which Donald Sutherland reprises this same role.

A real-life hero whose story is much better than most fiction. Born in Canada and a highly skilled surgeon, he could have had a useful and profitable career at home. Instead he chose to serve others - the poor in Canada, the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and finally the Chinese.

The film mostly follows his time in China, the work he his best remembered for. He went there in 1938, helping China against the invasion by Imperial Japan. He also chose to serve the Chinese Communist army rather than the Chinese Nationalists - the two were in alliance at the time.

The film also has flashbacks to Bethune's past, and tries to understand his motives.

At least, that's the way I remember it. The TV version had a much lower budget, so there was no fancy location footage, just a lot more drama.

It's a pity that with all the controversy surrounding the making of the 1990 effort, that the 1977 film could not have enjoyed a brief resurrection. Oh well, that's Canada, eh.

Jack Granatstein at the War Museum in Ottawa was lamenting the sad state of Canadian historical knowledge this week in the wake of the national poll just conducted. No one seems to know what "Vimy Ridge" means anymore. Meanwhile films like this one are collecting dust on a shelf at the CBC. Please consider this a comment for Remembrance Day.