Movie Review Hope Frozen : A Quest to Live Twice (2020)

 

Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice | 2020 | 1h 15m
Genre: Documentary/Drama | Country: Thailand
Director: Pailin Wedel | Writers: Nina Ijäs, Pailin Wedel
Cast: Max More, Matrix Naovaratpong, Nareerat Naovaratpong
IMDB: 6.6
My Rate: 8/10

A controversial story about Sahatorn, a Thai scientist, who froze his daughter who died from brain cancer, hoping to bring her back to life in the future.

Warning:

-

 

Synopsis of Hope Frozen:

Sahatorn and his family have to accept an unexpected situation. Their much-anticipated daughter, who was only 2 years old, died from brain cancer. There was no cure for it.

Einz was found unconscious and immediately taken to the hospital. She was diagnosed with brain cancer and had to undergo 12 surgeries. During that time, she was always in a coma for a period of time.

Sahatorn, who is also a scientist, after learning that Einz's life wouldn't last long, looked for a way to bring Einz back to 'life'. Sahatorn got information about cryogenic freezing and decided to do it to Einz. Cryonics is a method of preserving the human body by freezing it at a very low temperature, below −130 °C, to be resurrected in the future.

This caused controversy. It wasn't easy for Sahatorn to convince his family. Especially since it also contradicts the religion they practice. However, Sahatorn insisted, and Einz was frozen and sent to America.

 
Review of Hope Frozen:

Hope Frozen provides new information for its viewers. Many people who didn't know about it before. Something that was once considered impossible, it turns out has been developed and practiced in the real world.

This documentary can actually be said to be quite daring. Because the topic raised is quite sensitive. This documentary is considered to not have a clear goal that it wants to achieve and instead makes people give opinions that can corner the family.

Overall, there is a dilemma to raise this as a topic of discussion. Because we understand the sadness felt by the family. Also, the decision they made is their right as individuals. So, to comment on it, it seems inappropriate to do.

From a documentary perspective, there is a lack of clarity about Sahatorn's background, who is said to be a scientist. The character's background should be made clearer at the beginning, because not everyone knows who Sahatorn is. It's only explained that he is a scientist, but it's never explained what field of science he is in and what kind of findings he has produced. Because this might make people's views of him a little different. This background is what might make viewers understand Sahatorn's mindset and his decision to preserve his daughter.

Another lack of clarity is about Matrix, who is portrayed as a genius child who will help develop the possibility of bringing Einz back to life. He even meets a scientist in America who is researching this. The same weakness is shown, which is the lack of explanation about Matrix's background. Viewers are only shown how he seems to be researching in front of a microscope. Viewers don't really know what Matrix is actually doing.

Overall, and setting aside all the understanding that exists in society, this film is quite interesting to watch.

 

Memorable Scene:

They, along with the whole family, visit Alcor to see where Einz is. They bring many of Einz's favorite things so they can all feel Einz's presence again. In this scene, we can see how difficult it is for someone to lose someone they love very much, which is reflected in the expressions of sadness on each family member.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"Because being brought back without memories is not actually being brought back."

 

Ending:

Cliffhanger

 

Recommendation:

Worth to watch

 

(Aluna)