The Sensitives (movie)

I finally got around to watching The Sensitives a documentary film about people with chemical and electrical sensitivities directed by Drew Zanthropoulos. Great filming, outstanding photography, and I enjoyed how the dialogue was mixed over the various shots. Nicely done.

Some of the scenes were very interesting. Like the refrigerator full of supplements. Good god! I was hoping someone would address whether they do any good especially since there are theories that supplements add to the problem. That is a whole lot of financial investment for empty promises.

There sure were a lot of dogs in this movie. Barking dogs. With so many MCS/EMF people who have hearing sensitivities it still amazes me that MCS/EMF people are so thoughtless to subject others to their barking. The community down in Texas was featured - little, safe, EMF-proof houses in close proximity - with dogs milling about all over and barking! Like a ghetto. That place would be my personal hell.

One of the residents yelled at the new tenant to stay away from her house because he stinks. LOL! He's one of the stars of the film so it was a bit discombobulating to think this sick man stunk of toxic poisons, the poisons that make him sick. He called the place "a concentration of crazies." Well, that's not nice, but I totally get his sentiment. It has to be frustrating. This is my worry about moving to a community of any kind...I know I'm a pain in the butt and I don't know how much patience I'd have dealing with other people equally as obnoxious as me as we try desperately to control our environment. It sounds like a war in the making.

Not sure why someone suffering from MCS/EMF thought it would be a good idea to get on a plane and fly to Washington, DC. She couldn't participate in the conference in another way? Was the risk really worth it? They showed her walking along a busy city street filled with passing buses. I was gagging just imagining the fumes. I realize not everyone is as sensitive as I am, but if she has to use a wheelchair after a toxic exposure, I would think the travel risk would NOT be worth it.

She also invited a cigarette-smoke-saturated interviewer to sit on her bed with her dog. She told me I wasn't allowed to sit on the bed with or without the dog! And I didn't even stink! It was a little disturbing she was willing to smell people to determine if they had stink on. There is a lot of risky behavior going on here. The scene where she was testing EMF frequency with a transistor radio was fascinating.

I was a little envious of the support system all these people have. There was a lot of discussion on family members being taken for granted or not being recognized for all the work they do and the self-centeredness of those who are suffering. I think sick people in general are self-centered. It's their reality to do whatever they can to help and protect themselves and that makes them self-centered. In these scenarios, the wife does all the cooking and the ninety-year old grandmother does all the shopping. Their devotion is pretty amazing. I wish I had such devoted people in my life! I think chemical sensitivity would be that much more tolerable if I had a twin to share the experience, someone I could lay around in bed with, someone who totally understood my situation.

I kept pondering the difference between a family support system and no support system. The MCS/EMF people featured in this film who have family support seem far more dependent and helpless than, for instance, the woman who lives alone and is capable of doing a lot for herself. Is she less sensitive or just doesn't have the luxury of relying on someone else? The daughter of the man said if he had to live alone he would be forced to cook for himself rather than have his wife do everything for him. Can he cook for himself? Maybe the daughter doesn't understand his sensitivities, but clearly she thought he should be making more of an effort. And if he can't cook for himself, how could he even think of living alone in the first place? I suppose the appliances were less problematic in the Texas house? The film wasn't clear on these issues.

There were few moments of poignancy and personal emotion that were very descriptive. I think the best one was the phone call received from a woman stranded somewhere, having bad reactions to the environment, and in a panic not knowing what to do. That was very moving and exceptionally descriptive for such a short scene.

In summary, it was interesting, nicely filmed, perhaps a little disjointed and somewhat slow. Again, I would have liked more poignant moments or a different organization of stories to emphasize what it's like to have these kinds of limitations. It needed more of an emotional punch throughout. I found it confusing seeing in one scene where the subjects are so sick they can't function and then in the next scene they are risking exposure on purpose. I know that's reality and maybe that was the point, but a filmmaker would have more control over what is presented which would control the storyline.

Still, well done. It wasn't exploitive, but very honest and compassionate.