Life Overtakes Me

Life Overtakes Me is a gripping and emotionally charged documentary that was released in 2019. The film is an international co-production between Sweden and the United States, under the direction of Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas. The documentary is enriched with the participation of professionals like Henry Ascher, a paediatrician, Nadja Hatem, a therapist, and Mikael Billing, a prominent child psychologist, all of whom provide essential insights into the subject matter of the documentary.

The documentary delves into the psychological toll of trauma, carried out through a detailed examination of a rare but serious psychosomatic illness that affects children. Set predominantly in Sweden, Life Overtakes Me takes the audience on a journey of understanding, looking into an infrequent but critical condition known as Resignation Syndrome, predominantly seen among refugee children.

Resignation Syndrome presents as a condition where children exposed to severe trauma and extreme uncertainty about their future retreat to a coma-like state, becoming too immobilized to eat, speak, or move, often for several months or even years. The documentary reveals how this state of resignation manifests itself, primarily among children of families applying for asylum in Sweden.

The film is profoundly effective in providing an understanding of this heartbreaking syndrome, as it follows the lives of three families for a year, all of whose children are suffering from this condition. The audience gets to experience firsthand the anguish and helplessness of the parents, who are caught in a desperate struggle to rouse their unresponsive children even as their own futures hang in uncertainty, amid political changes in Sweden's asylum policy.

Life Overtakes Me is not only a medical and sociopolitical exploration of adversity but also brings to the forefront how excruciating experiences can manifest physically, in the most vulnerable of populations - children. The film employs intimate and intense storytelling methods to portray the human costs of the refugee crisis and the undeniable connection between our mental state and physical health.

Samuelson and Haptas' direction allows the audience to develop a poignant understanding of how politics, displacement, trauma, and healthcare intersect and ripple out to affect real lives. They successfully handle this delicate subject in a sensitive manner, and their documentative approach is observational rather than intrusive, allowing the affecting narratives to unfold with honesty and respect.

The medical perspectives provided by Henry Ascher, Nadja Hatem, and Mikael Billing, complimented with heartbreaking real-life stories, assure the documentary's realism and credibility. Their insights provide critical understanding and add depth to the exploration of the syndrome. The audience not only witnesses the patient's struggle but also comes to understand the difficulties that healthcare professionals grapple with in treating such a complex and perplexing condition.

Powerful, gut-wrenching, and educational, Life Overtakes Me delivers an emotional punch, acting as a wake-up call to see beyond political debates and statistics to understand the human cost of the refugee crisis. With its minimalist and evocative cinematography, expertly interspersed interviews and the sincere treatment of its subject matter, this documentary manages to strike a deep emotional chord with its audience, prompting us to contemplate important questions about hospitality, healthcare, and humanity.

Despite the movie's heavy themes, the filmmakers also make an effort to capture the faint glimmers of hope and resilience. It is this underlying strength and indefatiguable determination of both the children and their families that will leave you awestruck and deeply moved.

Life Overtakes Me, hence, offers an eye-opening examination of an unfamiliar issue with global implications. The film, through its empathetic storytelling, reminds us of the universally shared commitment we have to protect children and assure them a future free from turmoil and uncertainty.