Film:  Triage
Director: Patrick Reed 

HOT DOCS Triage WEBSITE

4 Stars 

Reviewed By:  Amanda Waschuk (Calgary Correspondent - Canada)

In this documentary, we join Dr. James Orbinski as he takes a journey back into his past and to the beginning of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).  It begins by defining the title of the film in the context used under the harsh conditions of a country suffering from famine. Triage: the labeling with tape of who should be treated right away, who should be treated within 24 hours, or who is still alive but irretrievable and sure to die.  To be in charge of this decision has had a clear effect on Dr. Orbinski and it is only through writing that he is able to lessen the burden (he is writing a book about his experiences which has recently been released). 

MSF was founded by Dr. James Orbinski in the 1990s and as President of the organization; Orbinski won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.  During his work with the organization, he has seen things that many will never see in their entire lifetime: famine eating away at the people of Somolia, genocide killing 800,000 people in 100 days in Rwanda, and many other violations of the human body which he tries to alleviate and save.  In this film, we are given a glimpse into the worlds of suffering, but it could never do the justice of what it would be like to experience them first hand.

By revisiting these places that Dr. Orbinski had once worked at, he found it evident that the same problems still exist, only not to the same extent.  This helps the viewer to understand that the need is still there, and it is important to acknowledge and be supportive of the work these doctors do.  We can see through the images captured that the people of these countries suffer greatly from forces not in their power.  The rest of the world needs to take notice and give support in order to change things to produce a life that they deserve.

This film helps the public to understand the sacrifices these doctors make to save the lives of those in countries suffering from political events or other tragedies that are out of their control.  They sacrifice conveniences of the modern world and the comfort of family, but the main sacrifice is safety (it was deemed impossible to work in the absence of security).  These foreign countries truly are a different world as it is commonplace for guns to be everywhere and violence to be an everyday occurrence.  Dr. Orbinski had worked in the middle of a war zone where he "never knew who was hiding in the bushes."  Although there are some doctors who have perished due to the dangers of these conditions, the work they had done will always be remembered especially by the lives they saved.  As we can see through the example of Dr. Orbinski, to be able to save 80,000 lives makes the risk worth it. 

Triage helps us to understand the importance of these humanitarians to the lives of the less fortunate and to the creation of a better future.