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A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY – The Review – We Are Movie Geeks

Review

A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY – The Review

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Life is hard. Just speaking in general terms, the daily grind of modern life takes a toll on the human mind, body and spirit. Granted, we’ve done all this to ourselves, but still the drive to survive and succeed in life is a daunting endeavor. Now, consider you’re not “normal” by society’s standards? Consider the playing field is not level in your life, but rather has been shifted and upended to resemble something like a cruelly insane funhouse ride. Consider what it would be like to have an undiagnosed syndrome that, amongst other things, causes your body to look so abnormally different from everyone else as to be labeled a freak? How do you feel, right now?

A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY is a new documentary from director Sara Bordo that made waves and garnered immense support when it played at the SXSW Film Festival. As the title suggests, this is the story of Lizzie Velasquez, a young woman born with an unexpected, undiagnosed condition that has taken an enormous toll on her body and appearance. Lizzie endured incredible hardships growing up, awkward questions and unpleasant stares from other kids, from strangers on the street, as well as the often-inhuman cruelty that is dealt out in high school. All of this and more, yet Lizzie remains perhaps one of the most amazing, positive and compassionate human beings you’ll ever hope to have a chance to meet.

What is it that makes Lizzie tick? There is a strength we witness in watching A BRAVE HEART that shines like a beacon through all the ugliness and negativity we see in the world. Lizzie is the very best of human nature with pretty much all of the nasty crap cut out. She is just a good, honest, real, sincere, likable person. What Bordo does with the film is to unveil a portrait of what we all can be, what we all should strive to be, but rarely excel to become.

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A BRAVE HEART introduces us to Lizzie, intentionally allowing us to dwell on her appearance at first, allowing us to run through our natural human emotions. Bordo allows us to get all the inevitable societal bullsh*t out of our systems before we delve into the heart of Lizzie’s story. We learn a little of her history, we hear the expected stories of growing up as a child that’s different, but the really cool thing that Bordo does is to spend far more time and focus on the positive experiences Lizzie has had growing up. She made friends, participated in extracurricular activities, including cheerleading, and was generally liked by her peers. It seemed, for a while, Lizzie had defeated the grotesque elephant in the room without even having to put up much of a fight… then social media happened.

I am as much a user and supporter of the Internet and social media as the next modern member of society, so I’m not saying it’s inherently bad. However, after seeing A BRAVE HEART, I am much more critical of how some people choose to use this amazing technology and how little use they choose to give their own lives in this world. Lizzie unwittingly discovers that someone has posted a short video clip of her on Youtube with the simple, straightforward title “The Ugliest Woman in the World.” This sup-standard human specimen – one which some would refer to as a “troll” (no, not the kind that lives under a bridge, that I am aware) – has garnered a small level of anonymous cyber-fame by way of shamelessly bullying another human being.

Within what surely seemed like microseconds, Lizzie’s world fell apart. The terribly, vile things being said about her on the Internet by people who do not know her or have ever even met her, going viral and spiraling endlessly into a 7-figure view count, this all came down on Lizzie like ten tons of lead bricks. For most of us, we’d crumble in the wake of the emotional weight, have a nervous breakdown or disappear and isolate ourselves from society altogether. But for Lizzle, this absolutely incredible young woman, it ends up being the key to shedding her inhibitions and triggers her true self to emerge and take control of her life.

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Lizzie fights back. Not fire with fire. Not with violence and vengeance. Not with hatred, but with courage and compassion in the face of ignorant malevolence. Instead of hiding or making excuses or succumbing to the ridicule in some other way, Lizzie stands up tall and proud, faces her demons eye to eye – or as much as she can when those demons hide behind the anonymity of the Internet – and she speaks openly and intelligently from her heart, saying this is who I am. My thoughts, beliefs, dreams and desires are what define me, not what I look like. She makes the case that it’s what she chooses to do with her life that matters, and what she does truly matters.

A BRAVE HEART does touch briefly on another case of cyber-bullying that had headlines in the news, but this is ultimately to tie into Lizzie meeting and being a mutual, reciprocal inspiration for the other person. This is Lizzie’s story and she’s going to keep telling it, but not to benefit herself… it’s to benefit others and fulfill what she believes is her life’s calling.

I’ll admit, this review may sound more like a marketing plug than an unbiased critique. I’ll accept that for what it is and counter by stating this; A BRAVE HEART is a modern gem of inspirational documentary filmmaking. It’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a testimony to having faith in the human race where it often seems a lost cause. See this film as adults, share this film with children of all ages, discuss and repeat. Help spread the seed that Lizzie is sowing and by God, help this young woman make a difference in this world.

A BRAVE HEART opens nationwide on Friday, September 25th, 2015

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Hopeless film enthusiast; reborn comic book geek; artist; collector; cookie connoisseur; curious to no end