All Rise...

Judge David Johnson has no Hepatitis C jokes nor would he think the utilization of which would be appropriate.

The Charge

Are you at risk?

The Case

Yeah, you might not get a shot of feel-good happiness with this documentary but, Kindra Anne Ruocco's brief film on the subculture of Hepatitis C sufferers blasts a large amount of information out at you and will probably educate some of the least aware folks (read: me) about an under-the-radar infection.

Hepatitis C got a decent amount of exposure when Pamela Anderson broke the news she was infected in 2002, but there's probably little argument that the C-version is often overshadowed by its more well-known A and B siblings. What Ruocco does is investigate the broad activism that is associated with Hepatitis C—a potentially fatal liver disease. To accomplish this, she takes her camera to real-life sufferers, finds out their stories, digs up little known information and gathers resources. Also, Ruocco is infected with Hepatitis C herself, having contracted it from a blood transfusion at an early age.

Review-wise, this is one of the discs that will sell itself, regardless of what I have to say about it. If this is subject matter that is of any interest to you, then you should check it out. Ruocco does a good job on a limited budget, bringing an eclectic selection of movers and shakers in the Hep C community. You'll meet the major activists that mobilize to generate legislation geared at helping the infected and musicians that sing benefit concerts and regular people coping with the disease.

The program itself runs 48 minutes, so it's far from a long slog and Ruocco packs a good amount of content in the short running time. Unfortunately, it's also an older production, filmed in 2003 and just now receiving a DVD release. I assume there's been more movement on the Hepatitis C front, so the fact that the material might be a bit dated could possibly be a deterrent. In addition, on its technical merits, the DVD isn't very impressive. The full frame picture is about VHS-level quality and there are no extras.

Still, the substance is interesting and Ruocco gives a look into a selection of Americans coping with something many others don't understand.

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