'The Human Experience' had been on my list of films to see for quite some time, and thankfully a few weeks ago in London I finally got my chance. Up until watching the film I had also been very intrigued as to its format - from the marketing it appeared to be a documentary... but not quite. To put your minds at rest with that one, I can say that having watched the production, it is, by-and-large, a true-life documentary. However, there is something of a unique format in 'dividing' the film into the three different experiences that they (the guys from Brooklyn) pursue, along with something of a combined narrative in following the true story of one of the guys (the young Jeffrey Azize) trying to find his place in the world and make sense of life and suffering.

This leads me on to my next point, which is to say that although the film is not explicitly Christian, let alone Catholic, the experiences of poverty and suffering that the team encounter on their journey means that the only real 'answer' to life, can be found in the teachings of the Christian faith. In this way I think the film is quite clever, and I pray that if they are given the chance to get it to a wider audience, it will bear much fruit among those in the world searching for answers to life and a pointer in the right direction. I can well imagine many a 'secular' peace campaigner, politics student or green activist watching this film and being inspired into self-reflection.

If I have one criticism of the production, it is that I didn't feel it quite had the necessary 'edge' to propel it into the limelight - I didn't feel as though there was enough character development (or learning) amongst the brothers as they went upon their journey. Perhaps there could have been a more direct challenge as to what we the audience should be doing about the issues addressed throughout the film. Still, maybe that's been done before by Hollywood without much success, maybe this is a more realistic, and therefore more implicitly challenging, all-round production. One thing I know is that for me, it's now a lot harder to mindlessly walk past a homeless person on the streets of London than it was before I watched this film - and in time I pray that will bear good fruit in my heart and in my actions towards my brothers and sisters in this world.