My Flesh and Blood Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)November 17th, 2003
MY FLESH AND BLOOD
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
"Fat, lots of kids, interesting, sense of humor," is how Susan Tom describes herself in an Internet dating ad that she'd like to write but doesn't. A wonderful single mom with a seemingly infinite capacity to give, Susan is a funny, good-spirited woman who certainly does have a few kids. She has thirteen of them, almost all adopted, with nine still living at home. This alone would make her something of a miracle mom, but what really makes Susan stand out is that, of the nine, eight are what is euphemistically called, "kids with special needs." The challenges her kids face run from lack of legs and other body parts to various forms of soon-to-be terminal conditions, and she averages having one or two of her kids in the hospital at any given time.
Jonathan Karsh's documentary about the Tom family, MY FLESH AND BLOOD, is a traditional one without any bells or whistles. Susan, who was at our screening, gave the film crew exactly one year, and no more, in the life of her brood. With a year's worth of indelible images, Karsh has joined them into a compelling picture. But, to be honest, the movie is initially so hard to watch that people seeing it on television are likely to turn it off before they get to know and love the family. Seeing kids with horrendous diseases and horrible burns can be quite a challenge for viewers used to such images only in cheesy fictional films, with THE SINGING DETECTIVE containing one of the better examples of such visuals.
What is so amazing about the family and the kids is their sense of humor and their belief that they have no limits as to what they can accomplish. At our screening Susan described how her two girls with no legs learned how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle, something that Susan thought impossible, but which she carefully did not tell them. Any guesses on the girls' success? I'll give you a hint -- betting against the Tom kids is rarely a good idea.
The kids and the movie are both quite funny at times. The biggest challenge in the household and subject of the most grief is a teenage boy named Joe, who is terminally ill from Cystic Fibrosis as well as suffering from ADHD. He verbally abuses the rest of the household, who, except for him, are constantly the sweetest kids you'd ever want to meet.
The Tom family's amazing, eye-opener of a story gives you new appreciation and respect for the abilities of the handicapped. The most telling question and answer at our screening came when one audience member asked Susan how she ensured that her kids were never embarrassed by their handicaps. "I don't treat them like they have handicaps," Susan replied with her usual big smile and charming confidence. "Xenia and Hannah (the two girls without legs) are short -- get over it!"
MY FLESH AND BLOOD runs 1:23. It is not rated but might be PG-13 for subject material and for brief language and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film opens in limited release in the United States on Friday, November 28, 2003. The movie was shown recently at the Camera Cinema Club (<http://www.cameracinemas.com>) of Campbell and San Jose.
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