Heroin(e)

Heroin(e) is a film that succinctly underlines why we need more women in positions of leadership, across the world. This Academy nominated short follows three women - a fire-chief, a judge and a missionary - as they fight an escalating drug crisis in a region dubbed the overdose capital of America. Among the many interesting moments, there's one where one of the women faces resistance during a town meeting, where she's asked to justify why she is saving the lives of people who are seen as a burden to the community. Her response really underscores the humanity of this film and almost becomes an allegory for the hope one needs to carry in times when the world is seemingly falling apart. While the film is shot on the go and the moving camera can give you a bit of a headache, it's still a beautiful ode to the power of what it truly means to be human.

10/18/17. A somewhat whitewashed version of the current opiate epidemic that some may find inspirational. While it gives viewers an inside look at what first responders must deal with when it comes to overdoses, it paints a somewhat skewed picture of those addicted. Those individuals highlighted as drug users seem a lot more cooperative than they really are. If they were this cooperative there wouldn't be such a big problem. Maybe it'll raise awareness. The one to watch is FBI's "Chasing the Dragon" on Youtube.

There was nothing new or revealing in this documentary for anyone who is even reasonably conversant with the news.

The one thing that stood out for me was the lady who worked at the fire department. There was no mistaking her caliber. It's people like her who lead humble lives but walk head and shoulders above the rest of us. They go about their days doing what most of us would find physically and emotionally draining to do even once, expecting nothing in return but the joy of helping another.

There are no words to express how much respect and affection I felt for this strong, selfless stranger.

Firstly, and I'll say this first before I start my praise, I can agree with some other reviewers that this documentary does not show the darkest side of heroin addiction nor the most wicked and horrendous world of the addicts. However that said, this documentary is still very very good and 40minutes well spent.

The power and sadness of this documentary lies in the dialogue, as well as the heartbreaking monologues. "I fear that we have lost a couple of generations" (Jan Rader) followed by captions informing us that Huntington is the overdose capital of America with a death rate 10 times higher than the national average. Does the viewer really need the picture painted to them with shocking gory scenes? Abuse. Violence. Self-destruction. It's all there - inbetween the lines. In people's eyes. When the guy in the fire department says that 'all you see is the bad, it's constant, bad bad bad." He pauses, and there's such pain in his eyes as he continues "And then you drink". The subtle destruction of those working around the clock to save the lives of those using. I found that so incredibly tragic.

A beautiful juxtaposition takes place in this documentary. Against the eerie shots of 6th Avenue, where prostitutes waste away for drug money, and scenes from the drug court, where the failure to follow the program sends dead-eyed addicts to jail, there is the power and persistence of those who will not bend to the drug and the massive problems it causes. In focus are 3 women who in each way of their own, try to make a difference. I found all of them extremely admirable - and in all the misery that is the hard world of drugs, we need this kind of hope. We need to see the fighters that do not give up - who keep at it even in a battle that seems lost. Giving space to hope is not the same as whitewashing a problem.

I watched this with both smiles on my faces and eyes tearing up. I think there is a clever shift between despair and optimism. This documentary is not out to shock. It tells a tale of extensive drug use with calmness and that can be stronger than in your face footage. I hear the words 'elephant tranquilliser' from a former addict, and cannot even grasp what that would do to a human being. Lucky to be alive beyond doubt. A point also worth to raise. People do get clean, even if they often relapse as old heroin ghosts whisper lies in their ears and minds. This documentary shows us that too. It also gives way for recognition and wonder - the 3 women are indeed true heroines! The title delivers. This is good.

The recent Emmy-winning miniseries "Dopesick" looked at the opioid crisis in West Virginia and how Purdue Pharma (run by the Sackler family) pushed addictive medications on the people, causing large numbers of premature deaths. It turned out that there was another look at the opioid crisis. Elaine McMillion Sheldon's Academy Award-nominated "Heroin(e)" focused on a number of people in Huntington, West Virginia, a small town disproportionately affected by opioids. Part of the focus is how these desperate people turn to drugs, and another part is how other people in the town have tried to help them.

Basically, the things to understand are how big pharma preyed on hopelessness, and how the community has sought to lessen the epidemic's impacts. Everyone should see this documentary.