Something the Lord Made

This true story gives an insight of two extraordinary people's accomplishents and their relationship. It also provides an important social view of those earlier years of 1930-1940. Excellent film!

I ordered this video when I was going through a Mos Def obsession, and he did not disappoint. (Alan Rickman's just the cherry on this particular float.) Here is a wonderfully understated rendering of the relationship between two scientists in the 30's, one white, one black, a relationship out of which grew an amazing discovery: the heart CAN be surgically repaired! Yes, the discovery itself is important, but the relationship which nurtured it is so powerfully drawn in this film, it rivals the science. Rickman and Def are brilliant here (as I expected them to be), but we mustn't forget the just-as-brilliant portrayals given by Sedgwick and Union. This is a perfect addition to a Black History film collection.

The only reason I ended up watching this was because of Alan Rickman. I will watch anything he's in. The actual topic didn't particularly interest me, but I was quickly enveloped in this movie. It really is quite informative and amazing how it was based on a factual event, because its such a historic and important event. Mos Def was actually quite good in this and he and Alan were wonderful to see interact on camera together. It is a quiet little film, but a powerful one.

This film reminds us of the disenfranchisement experienced by Black Americans in the last century. That Johns Hopkins finally did the 'right thing' by awarding Vivien Thomas a doctorate, made this viewer feel some victory had been gained over ignorance and racism. I felt drained after watching this movie. I cried several times. I've since purchased it for several people. I wish this movie could be shown to middle school kids, particularly in the inner city, to show them how they, too, could defy the odds and that dreams can come true.

This is a great movie about the beginnings of open heart surgery. I actually am thinking of showing this movie to all of our cardiovascular technician classes as a great way of showing how it all began and how Doctors Blalock and Taussig first treated Tetralogy of Fallot (the "blue babies'" ailment). This was before the "routine" nature of bypass surgeries and valve replacements. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a big part of medical history.