david-meldrum Review of Crip Camp

Crip Camp (2020)

A Fascinating Story That Ultimately Deserves To Be Told A Little Better

[7/10 · 16 November 2020]

A documentary about an American summer camp in the 1970's exclusively for disabled children, and the political activism that was given energy and direction as a result, When I first became aware of the film, I feared a tacky 'inspiration' sort of thing; this film certainly isn't that. The first 45 minutes or so about the camp itself I found fasicnating watch, which said much that resonates - not least the power of enabling people to be around those who have similar journeys to themselves. This can result in all sorts of things, and the documentary gives a good and moving airing to this. The rest of the film - around an hour - is the story of the political activism, lobbying hard for changes to laws and the enacting of laws to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of disability.. It's a story that's worth telling and hearing - though, for me, my attention drifted and it felt like a genuinely interesting story was not being done justice in terms of holding attention or connecting properly with the first part of the film.