However, many critics point out how these subjects are all vulnerable and incapable of really understanding what they are signing themselves up for. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-In-My-Heart-Documentary-In-Memory-Of-My-Dad-Toni-And-Vanda/233416877232. This is not to say there isnt artful construction in the film. I personally believe that the word exploit is quite a harsh word to put on the filmmaker without full justification, its made clear that the subjects wanted to be filmed, Watson treats this permission with a good amount of respect both for the subjects and the topic of the documentary whilst at the same time sustaining his role as the stand back and sympathetic-ear presence. Considering this film brings light to the mental conditions that tend to lead to alcoholism, then was Paul Watson in the right place to accept the consent from these people? It is one of overwhelming sickness and reduced privacy/independence. Get up to 5 months free I found the piece riveting but extremely disturbing. That we cant see others be in such a position because we wouldnt want ourselves to be shown in such a state. However, it doesnt necessaily mean it is totally a bad thing. From a documentarians point of view, Watson did a remarkable job of exploring the brutality of a taboo subject, but from a moral standpoint, the filmmaker may not have been exploitative in his actions but he was definitely extreme. This scene is perhaps one of the more uncomfortable in the film as Watson is merely documenting Vandas relapse back to alcohol and the range of mood swings she encounters. Filmed in 2006 the film. About the same age as Vanda, Kath has spent more than a decade caring for an alcoholic. 2 . Overall, I do not feel that Paul Watson has exploited the subjects in his film. Play online or download to listen offline free - in HD audio, only on JioSaavn. A prime example of this in the documentary was when Vanda (under the influence of alcohol) decided to share her demons and reasons for her addiction. However, that would ruin his fly on the wall style of filmmaking. For example, Vanda(I think its her name) points at her head and say it is there. The veins in her legs have contracted because of alcohol, making walking difficult. I feel that Paul Watson did exploit his subjects to some extent. For example, when Vandas temper reaches a certain point and she slams the phone down repetitively, wanting to break it and smash it pieces. Play over 265 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. Some of you may felt that Sunday's documentary was a bit light, a little bit like eating candy floss, no substance. However, from what I saw in the film, Watson does take advantages on his subjects. All the footage that was quite hard to watch did, however, make the film much more real for me. Critical and disbelieving responses after giving personal information in a safe space, can cause as much pain and loneliness as the original abuse. By making such a real and baring all film, he is raising awareness about the reality of alcoholism and hopefully opening the eyes of alcoholics watching it and even doctors watching it, who can see how to help alcoholics in earlier stages. I particularly found the way that Watson asked questions respectable, when talking about the monsters in Vandas head she stated she didnt want to talk about it and he was reassuring and moved the conversation away from them. However, what I think strongly outweighs this are the positive effects of the film in terms of education. Penny recalls being so scared. Although there is noticeably moments in the film that steer towards the interviewer, interviewee style of interaction, the communication between Watson and his subjects can certainly be seen as intimate and personal. However, this scene does give greatest insight in to why Vanda is an alcoholic, and given the nature of the documentary, this is a critical point that must be conveyed to the viewer to give most depth to the understanding of alcoholism. In this process, the audience can get more understanding about the characters and theme. And it tells us a lot; it is educational, eye opening and informative. Sometimes during the film I felt like I wanted to intervene in order to stop what the interviewees were struggling with while telling their stories. It is hard to watch, but becomes even more uncomfortable when Watson interjects right in the middle of someone elses story, such as Mark, to remind the audience of the monsters. No one feels comfortable at the hospital anyway without a camera crew to be there watching your pain and destruction (essentially). If the subjects are happy to be filmed then I dont see the problem as long as they have a stable state of mind. My DF was a chronic alcoholic (who died after eventually committing suicide) and I grew up with my parents while social circle being people in AA and Al-anon so maybe it was less of a shock to me as I've seen most of this first hand. Probably. This is followed by a sequence of Claire crying at his funeral and shots of the casket. My point being, Watson could have constructed his Documentary in a more ethical way (probably without capturing the outstanding footage he managed to get) or could have been completely unethical by being dominantly intrusive and not taking into consideration personal boundaries, I do believe he has balanced these to an acceptable standard. However, as I mentioned previously, Watson neither encourages nor halts the emotional stress of the patients, he simply asks them questions about their mental state and at times even asks the patients if they would prefer the camera to be turned off. This allowed the subjects to be themselves around him as Mark said that he didnt hide his bottle of wine from Watson and the camera because this is what the film is all about. Rain in My Heart I thought was a very dark, powerful and hard hitting documentary. Therefore I agree that their lives were exposed (as they agreed and wanted them to be) but they were not harshly exploited by Paul. There are some moments that I will have questions against this films moral or ethical problems. Forum Member. It was really uncomfortable scene to me, Paul trully showed the seriousness of alcohalism and it must influence to the audience. But all of these elements and attitudes of the filmmaker were performed in order to achieve a result of what alcoholism really is and of how serious and dangerous its consequences can be. Therefore, Watsons approach definitely satisfied me with how delicately he treats the patients and clearly recognizes his role as filmmaker. Watson edits and cross-cuts footage to emphasize reccuring themes across the alcoholics. On the positive side of the argument I agree that Watson, through the cut away shots he includes throughout the film, allows himself to be more personal with the audience. Stream "I've Got Rain In My Heart" by The Fresh Experience on desktop and mobile. I remember feeling genuinely scared that some of the subjects were going to die: such as when Mark was at home and was continuing to drink in excess and constantly vomiting. For one the subjects were extremely vulnerable which raises the question on whether they were in the right state of mind to consent to being filmed and telling their story. He never appeared to be controlling or interregative in a dominant sense, he remained calm when interviewing his subjects and took their replies without expresing his personal opinion. He interrogates the truth, not to exploit or harm the subjects in any way, but to try and uncover how and why these people fell into such a dark and alienated existence. This is a scene which perhaps does challenge the idea of ethics by posing the question of how FAR can we go to observe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjy8Z1hK2wY fromSchindlers List, Set to music, shot in thegorgeous shadows of black and white, and perfect balanced frames. This gives the impression that Paul Watson is only interested in the success of this documentary. Although uncomfortable to watch this shed some light if not clarity into the source of Vandas drinking. Rain in My Heart was Paul Watson's good deed in this naughty world. At this point, i would say, at least, it demonstrates the serious damage of alcoholism to many people like me, especially for teengers. However, I would not say these intimacies are exploitative of the sincere as they are constantly asked for permission as to what Watson is filming is ok by them. On Thursday, in a special follow-up film for Newsnight, Paul revisits two of the alcoholics from the film, plus the widow of one of those who died during filming. It was graphic, saddening and an uncomfortable viewing but I was overwhelmed by its message. The world was slowly healing. Revisiting Rain. Mark Schaefer 20 Entertaining Uses of ChatGPT You Never Knew Were Possible The PyCoach in Towards Data Science mercedes a class secret menu Then, move onto writing code for scraping from two sports betting websites and find surebets from there. The film charts the traumas faced by the alcoholics as they bounce between Gillingham Medway Maritime Hospital and their homes, and highlights the emotional impact their struggle has had on those around them. Half a bottle of vodka on the train to work at the age of 17 began Mark's journey into alcoholism. However, I dont think you should abuse the power and trust given by the four patients. This specific example also leads me to point out how, by digging deep into these miserable cases, the audience would get a clear idea of WHO alcoholics really are and HOW they got involved with alcoholism. I also at times found it hard to watch due to the harsh reality of the subjects lives. This was maybe to excuse himself for what he maybe shouldnt have been doing and to tell the viewer that yes he thought it was wrong, but he was doing it for a reason to explore a topic that most people are scared of exploring. Paul Watson. Two of the participants in Paul Watson's Rain in My Heart died during filming. Paul Watson was capturing the real lives of these alcoholics, he was not interfering with their actions and allowed alcoholics who were told if they drink anymore they could die, to drink. The fact he became emotionally involved with such a topic I believe would have helped; it was clear he so wanted them to stay off the alcohol and endure a full recovery. (steering away from the public filming location of the hospital) and can we film them in such a vulnerable and dazed state? He made this film to show people about the effects of alcoholism, and I think he achieved his goal. " "Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red. He first asks for consent to film them, telling them that he cannot interfere with anything that theyll do, but in return pushes them to the limit by asking provocative questions. 0. 0 . He just tried to observe that and filmed everything as it is, while they I assume from the very beginning had agreed to be filmed in any state they are. The attempts to deal with these accusations are unsatisfactory as the unethical conduct exhibited in this film were necessary for the desired effect. At no point during the documentary did I feel that the filmmaker was exploiting the subjects, the recording of what can be described as personal and intimate situations felt more like a significant necessity with moral intentions towards bringing awareness towards the seriousness of the consumption of alcohol. And the audience is living the pain through the subjects, and that is the best outcome to achieve, making the subjects exploitation almost worthwhile. Seeing the filmmakers process on screen is great when theyre doing something that you need to see. Are you satisfied by his attempts within the film to deal with such accusations? I realised after I posted this! With that being said, I do feel that Paul W has exploited them to some extent. Print this design in the 3.5 x 5" size. The subject was in a particularly vulnerable state and he took advantage of that and filmed her confession. He'd been self-harming repeatedly and been in and out of a psychiatric ward. I think the fact that this documentary is so hard to watch gives light to the reality that alcoholism is incredibly hard to live with, and by being so thorough the film shortens the gap between subject and audience. You can watch a short reminder of their stories via the links below. My main criticism of the film is Watsons commentary on the events and decisions made during filming. In addition, it appears that Watson is aware of the delicate nature of the documentary and embraces this by stating that all the filming was agreed by the sufferers, in order to shy away accusations that he is exploiting the individuals which he observes. It may be their escape from their issues, and what I think is also important to keep in mind is that if they are using alcohol for this reason, then it could have easily been any other drug. Watson creates this feeling in his editing, which makes his points and connections better but is never pleasant as an aesthetic experience. This however does not detract from the fact that I believe some of what Watson did, did push the boundaries on what is ethical and moral within a documentary. He puts himself in the film to explain how he felt at the time, allowing the audience to be involved in his own personal emotions whilst watching his film. Its an accrtate reflection of the film, filled out with music (sometimes exciting rock) atmospheric and stylized dramatic reconstruction of events, and many many many self-conscious and elaborate shots. Watsons past experience in using the observational documentary style in his films means that he is well adjusted to the style. Watching Rain in my Heart was a particularly harrowing and educational experience for me as a viewer. So all these people dont mind being shown in their most vulnerable state on national TV and even Watson at times ask the subjects if they would like him to turn the camera off. I can understand how to other viewers, this film may be seen as a breach to ethics within filmmaking, with how Watson gets so close with his vulnerable subjects, however, I feel that Watsons approach is what makes this film such a powerful observation. Most Popular Now | 56,514 people are reading stories on the site right now. It brings to light the seriousness of alcoholism, and how it may affect more than just those who drink in excess, i.e. Mark is being exploited towards the end of the film when he goes crazy and starts crying, screaming, vomiting etc. This is also made clear later in the film when he spends some time filming at one of the female patients, Vandas house. But theres a film within and around the film, one that Steven Spielberg didnt make but that he or someone else should have made: Spielbergs List, the story of the casting call for the actresses who would be getting undressed and going into the gas chamber that turns out to be a shower. 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