REVIEW: ‘American Doctor’ Delivers An Uncompromising Look At A Modern Genocide

American Doctor, a documentary directed by Poh Si Teng, follows three doctors as they work both in the United States of America and Gaza to aid the people who are suffering through a genocide. It dives deep into their personal experiences at home and on-site, as they do all that they are allowed, despite great resistance from virtually all sides. 

In the film’s opening, we first meet one of the doctors, Mark Perlmutter, as he describes a mass casualty event to a camera crew. As he prepares to show an image of children slain in Gaza, an unidentified individual, a producer or such, mentions blurring the images out of respect. Perlmutter shoots down this idea, as he explains he has permission from all the next of kin, and that it was Israel that already took their dignity; showing what has happened is how we preserve their memory. 

American Doctor shies away from nothing while depicting genocide.

This opening is the perfect way to establish what American Doctor spends the next hour and a half doing. It dives into the horrors being inflicted on innocent people, without relenting or compromising their positions. Much of what is shown is brutal and painful to see, even through a monitor. But it should be. It has to be. 

Virtually every trial and tribulation one could devise is seen on display here. From shortages of supplies to the apathy, if not outright hostility, from those in authority towards the pain and loss that is playing out, it is stunning to witness what is being endured.  It is impossible to understand how anyone can continue to struggle through the seemingly unending hell that is being heaped upon them. 

American Doctor shies away from nothing. Every gruesome injury, every bomb drop, and every loss is put in sharp focus, demanding the viewer acknowledge what is happening. As doctors try to plan treatments, they get derailed when equipment fails, with no way to get parts across the locked-down borders.

Despite all the horrific nightmares that play out in American Doctor, there are still glimmers of hope.

Even the most basic necessities, like simple painkillers, are not readily available. When one of the doctors is shown preparing to journey to Gaza, we see him dispersing small bags of medicine throughout his luggage, like a drug mule, hoping something slips through. It is deplorable. 

The footage taken outside of Gaza, as the doctors work to raise awareness, or, in one’s case, struggle to simply be let in so he can help, adds a layer of blood-boiling frustration to the proceedings. As they are met frequently with more roadblocks and threatening letters over their desire to see no one else die, the domestic elements of the narrative the film crafts leave the deepest feelings of disgust. 

Despite all the struggles, dangers, and horrific nightmares that play out in American Doctor, there are still glimmers of hope. Displaced children are sometimes seen greeting the aid workers with cheers; local doctors are seen glowing with the arrival of their international allies. The entirety of the world has not forgotten them, or chosen to look away. 

American Doctor holds nothing back as it showcases much that many wish to ignore.

Outside of Gaza, we see rallies, conventions, and other large-scale gatherings attended by the film’s subjects, reinforcing this small flicker of hope that remains resilient and undeterred. Talks are shown where experiences are conveyed, and the camera openly scans the faces of those listening, allowing the viewer to share in the pain that this movie brings to any watcher still possessing a shred of empathy or conscience, reminding us that the pain is not isolated and that together it can yet be relieved.

American Doctor holds nothing back as it showcases much that many wish to ignore, lie about, or actively cheer for. It highlights the failure of us all as an international community that, for over half a century, proclaimed, “Never again.” It’s happening again, and too many are letting it. 

American Doctor is playing now in select theaters.