Event

The English Surgeon

(Geoffrey Smith, UK, 2007, DigiBeta, 94 min)

When British brain surgeon Henry Marsh first visited the KGB Hospital in Kiev in the early 1990s, he was appalled by the conditions. Patients were dying from treatable conditions. Since then, Marsh has been on a mission to create a viable brain surgery clinic, salvaging discarded equipment from British hospitals, second-hand drills from flea markets and any other tools fashioned to do the job. Geoffrey Smith's exceptional documentary follows the maverick neurosurgeon on a trip to the Ukraine, where he encounters patients for whom he is the last chance. As Marsh tackles increasingly risky cases, he is haunted by the memory of a young Ukrainian girl whose operation went fatally wrong. The English Surgeon is tense, heartbreaking, humorous and extraordinary. Musical score composed and performed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
"Deeply touching, resonant and very funny" --Variety