The First Wave

I watched the film via streaming on the Eventive app on Apple TV. The first moments of the documentary was hard to watch. Several times I considered turning the TV off and not watching it. You, the viewer, are basically like the fly on the wall where interns and nurses are constantly called to rooms in ICU to assist dying patients trying by a long shot to rescue them from sure death either through CPR or electro heart shocks before deciding their pulses are not coming back and they are declared dead. Many times the interns and nurses lose it and get very emotional when they are unable to save lives. You actually see one body getting zipped in a body bag, stored in a refrigerated truck and buried in a mass grave. Later on, the movie focuses on three specific people. An intern and two severely ill Covid-19 patients in ICU on ventilators. One is a school security officer for the NYPD, the other one of the hospital's nurses who is pregnant who caught covid from her patients. While in ICU, she gave birth by C-section. The film also focuses on both their families and how they are coping. Throughout the film it is hard to predict if either of them would survive. I predict this film will be a strong candidate for an Oscar for Best Documentary.

I thought Matthew Heineman did justice by being able to film what was going on in the ICUs at the time. The hospital they were at was in Queens and I was in Brooklyn at the time. It's accurate. I was surprised the film crew was able to capture more of the intimate moments that the public doesn't get to see. It's a necessary watch, despite the flashbacks. Part of me thinks if they were releasing footage like this early on in the pandemic, it would've changed a lot of public opinion. The other part says some people still would've turned a blind eye. Also, beware of the other reviews calling this fake. Those Herman Cain award nominees wouldn't even know...

I think this documentary is extremely accurate in telling this story that needs to be told from the lens of healthcare providers. It literally was like this. The emotions, the dialogue, the sentiments, the difficult conversations, the intersection with racial injustice and unrest. It is all accurate, and seeing this made me feel heard. It validated that many of the things// conversations I saw and experiences I/ my colleagues had were in fact happening everywhere.

Kieleargente , ragerino , uncleruckus-27636 said it all - there is actually nothing more to add.. besides underlining that this is a documentary and not a movie.

It is heart wrenching, I am not crying easily .. but when the one nurse started washing her hands, ranting and swearing at all of this after a patient died, I lost it.

It really really just shows you the extraordinary emotional stress these people especially are going through.

I do not understand the 1-6 star ratings, I have no idea who and how one can come to this "conclusion/opinion".

I personally feel very deflated after seeing this. I fear/feel nothing will change. Authorities and our systems will always 'be' like this. Prioritising profits instead of standing up for values like community, care, decency...etc.

I too believe a strict lockdown worldwide could/would have changed the course of this pandemic.

The stories of those who overcame, and the care of the medical professionals towards their patients, was absolutely breathtaking.

Anyone who says differently, trivializes the suffering of others and the work of the healthcare professionals. In fact, those who marked a 1 and voiced their opinion, made clear their ignorance.