Heal the Living

2016 [FRENCH]

Drama

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 91% · 58 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 68% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 3679 3.7K

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Plot summary

The intersecting lives of teens on a surfing trip, a woman with a weak heart and two teams of doctors and medical experts.

Top cast

Tahar Rahim as Thomas Rémige
Alice Taglioni as Anne Guérande
Emmanuelle Seigner as Marianne
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
950.63 MB
1280*536
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 16
1.91 GB
1920*804
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles fr  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 17

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Blue-Grotto 8 / 10

Fantastic and Heart-rending

Surgeons at work, a young ocean surfer and a middle-aged woman with a terminal ailment, collide together like erratic waves and shifting currents. The sea serves as a metaphor and transition point in this drama about diverse lives connecting, the nuances of human interaction under trying circumstances and dealing with the unexpected.Heal the Living includes some fantastic and heart-rending scenes including; a teen racing uphill in the city to greet his love, a police escort in the night for precious medical cargo, a message to an unconscious boy and spending what may be the last moments with someone before they die.The filmmakers deftly portray the professional nonchalance, human sensitivity (or lack thereof), amazing skillfulness and bewildering medical technology of surgeons and their assistants. The physical operations performed by the surgeons are shown in admirable and excruciating detail. I had to look away more than once. Hospital politics are delved into with doctors bickering over the limits of treating people with compassion. The film is based on Maylis de Kerangal's novel Mend the Living. According to the director at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, the author was consulted for the movie, did not always agree with certain scenes, but liked the final result. My only wish is for deeper dialogue and a faster pace at times. Wonderful imagery of surfing and the sea.
Reviewed by philipfoxe 8 / 10

Thank you French cinema

If this film had been made in Hollywood it would have vomit inducing. Because it's french it's anything but. A simple story, told without sentiment, but so poignant and real. All the characters are like people you almost know, with hints about them and their lives even of the smaller parts. The technical aspects of the medical procedures are twinned with the real care and involvement of the staff. There is a great scene where a nurse is ticked off by her superior but stands her ground and he backs off. Somehow that was thrilling. It's also about people trying to control their lives, not what others want. In the end it's so life enhancing without any soppiness. What a treat!
Reviewed by rubenm 7 / 10

Unique view into the human body and soul

This is a film about hearts, but not in the way films usually treat this subject. It's not about lonely hearts, or hearts on fire, or hearts going out to someone, but real hearts. The powerful muscle that pumps blood through the body. I can't remember ever having seen a heart, but in 'Réparer les vivants' it's shown in all its glory. It looks quite different than I thought it would, by the way.The story is simple. A car crash leaves seventeen year old Simon brain dead, and his devastated parents decide his organs can be transplanted. Because of this decision Claire, a mother of two boys Simon's age, is saved from a certain death.The events are shown as they are. We see the grief of Simon's parents when they hear of his fate. We see their doubts about the organ transplant. We see how difficult it is for the doctor to inform them about the possibilities of organ donation. We see Claire's reluctance to receive a new heart. We understand why she doesn't want to tell her son what is going on. We also see the concentration of the medical team during the two operations - one to remove the heart and one to replace it.In the film, the emotions speak for themselves. They are powerful enough not to need any additional effects. No side stories, no cheap metaphors, no heavy dialogue spelling it all out. For example, we never hear how Simon's parents come to their decision. We see them grieve together, and then tell the doctor they agree.The last part of the film, showing the operations, is very powerful. Director Katell Quillévéré shows it in an almost documentary style. The transplant centre where hearts, livers and lungs are being distributed as if they were ordinary merchandise, the ice box in which the heart is transported (by a small airplane) and the operation itself, which gives the viewer a unique view into the human body.'Reparer les vivants' is not a tearjerker in the traditional way: there are no cheap emotional effects. But it's full of genuine emotions, beautifully filmed, which might have a tear inducing effect.
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