The Virgil Films May 28, 2019 DVD release of the 2018 labor-of-love documentary "Cancer Rebellion" meets the genre ideal of being equally entertaining and educational. In addition, the topic this time is personal for former Acute Myeloid Leukemia patient/producer/director/writer/narratoor Hernan Bobo Baraganan. The star power comes from former rocker/actor (RICKMAN!)/executive producer Roger Daltry. The following YouTube clip of the "Rebellion" trailer covers comparable ground to the journey of Baraganan in his quest to speak with a cancer kid in every US state. We get a good sense of both the primary theme and of the reversal of fortune that seemingly is mandatory in quest documentaries of this type. Like the peers whom now 20-something Baraganan gives 15 seconds of fame, his diagnosis comes out of left field. His subjects can relate to his desire to lead a normal adolescent life. All 16 year olds can relate to his hospital release roughly coinciding with that milestone anniversary that allows getting a license to drive.
Other stories include sports injuries leading to diagnoses, blacking out in school without the benefit of a mind-altering substance changing everything, and what seems to be a minor ache being a sign of cancer. The most amusing story is courtesy of a surprisingly candid teen boy who tells of trying to pleasure himself in his hospital bed while hearing his father talking with nurses just outside the room. A related tale is of the hospital requiring parental permission to have pornography. One lesson here is that even boys with cancer will be boys. The bigger picture is that all of these kids are doing what they must to prevent their short lives from prematurely ending. They also share the love and support that they receive. One participant who comments that he did not do anything wrong perfectly reflects the proper attitude regarding this disease. The narrower benefit, which is even closer to the heart of Baraganan, is that speaking with him and seeing the stories of the other kids shows his talking heads that they are far from alone. This is one of the best forms of medicine that that can get.
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