By Christopher K House
Stumped was part of the documentary series of the 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival. Always look forward to the festival's doc series and this year is no different. Stumped is the story of film maker Will Lautzenheiser and his personal journey losing his limbs and adjusting to life. Lautzenheiser lost both arms and legs due to complications from staph infection.
Intermixed with interviews from Lautzenheiser's friend's and family we get a close look into their lives. Lautzenheiser is chosen to have a donor's arms transplanted onto his own arms. We learn more about limb transplant through interviews with Lautzenheiser's doctors. The thing that is missing is more detail of the emotional journey of when Lautzenheiser became sick and what he and his family went through when he did loose his limbs. It's there, just not the detail that would make us invest emotionally. It's glanced over.
One thing that makes a documentary great is one of those "hooks" when something happens to turn the story on it's head. Nothing like that happens here. It's still a fascinating story, it just doesn't have an emotional hook.
A great doc that captivates but, doesn't have a hook.
3 out of 4 stars
Stumped was part of the documentary series of the 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival. Always look forward to the festival's doc series and this year is no different. Stumped is the story of film maker Will Lautzenheiser and his personal journey losing his limbs and adjusting to life. Lautzenheiser lost both arms and legs due to complications from staph infection.
Intermixed with interviews from Lautzenheiser's friend's and family we get a close look into their lives. Lautzenheiser is chosen to have a donor's arms transplanted onto his own arms. We learn more about limb transplant through interviews with Lautzenheiser's doctors. The thing that is missing is more detail of the emotional journey of when Lautzenheiser became sick and what he and his family went through when he did loose his limbs. It's there, just not the detail that would make us invest emotionally. It's glanced over.
One thing that makes a documentary great is one of those "hooks" when something happens to turn the story on it's head. Nothing like that happens here. It's still a fascinating story, it just doesn't have an emotional hook.
A great doc that captivates but, doesn't have a hook.
3 out of 4 stars
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