***Be warned, this film is difficult at times to watch (but worth it)***
The world is so full of misery, and that's not being melodramatic, it truly is, and this film is a great example of it. A woman named Susan Tom has and I'm sure will continue to adopt kids with special needs, 11 of them as of when the film was made.
Two of the little girls are missing their legs entirely, others are confined to wheel chairs. One boy has cystic fibrosis, another is mentally challenged, one kid has epidermolysis bullosa that makes his skin fall off his body, a little girl whose whole head was burned in a fire, it goes on and on like this. Some of the kids are terminal and many of them live with pain everyday. Watching this women not only take on one child who needs her help but over ten, and that's not including the ones that died in the past is truly amazing.
I had to work hard not to cry, it wasn't out of pity though. Watching someone in pain has always had that reaction for me, and I'm sure many other people have the same. I thought going into this movie that it would be uplifting, and in many ways it is, but it is also a documentary, and there's no writers here, just the plain truth and reality of the situation, and no ones going to come riding in with the cavalry to save some people. This family is so beautiful though, they all care for one another so much, and I guess in that way love will save them.
I was disturbed to find a villain early in the movie, actually we meet him in the very first scene. His name is Joe and he has cystic fibrosis. Now when I say this don't get me wrong, he certainly does bad things, but he's still a child, but I'm not going to kid the situation, he was dangerous to his sisters, but still a victim himself. For that I felt so bad for him, he's a victim and the only thing he can do is victimize other people, and he is angry and he has every right to be. 15 is to young to be dying.
The truly amazing thing about this family is that they really don't even hint at letting anything hold them back from what they want to do, not that any of their disabilities should hold them back. The story takes place in four parts, they start in the fall and end in the summer with a montage to introduce each new section in the movie, with these montages they showed how truly normal these kids are. In one they are ice skating...all of them are (including the girls who have no legs.) In another they are swimming in a pool. So many times I laughed during it because as kids they are just funny, they just say funny things.
In an unexpected turn, but smart choice the kids don't talk about their disabilities to the camera, only Susan does that, instead they let the kids talk about who they are, what they like to do. In that way we learn who they are, and not what disability they have, that doesn't define them, its of course something they live with everyday but it is not who they are. More often than not you see smiles on their faces and hear them laughing, even with the challenges that Susan has to overcome having to care for so many kids you can see that she is happy to be doing it, and making her life and theirs better. These are kids who were dumped in the system by parents who couldn't or just didn't want to care for them. Here she is doing what they couldn't do times 11.
The title is accurate, we are all of the same flesh, we are all of the same blood. Watching someone being truly humane reminds me that we as humans might not be as bad as it sometimes seems. I recommend this film to everyone, not only to remind yourself of how lucky you are, but more importantly to see some truly strong people, disabled....no, they are stronger than I ever could be. 9/10 stars.
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