In the Same Breath

Documentary

Info

Nanfu Wang’s superb and frightening documentary, In the Same Breath, is both personal and analytical. When Nanfu Wang, a U.S. resident, became aware the virus that started near her hometown of Wuhan was becoming pandemic, and hearing the misinformation being spouted by government officials, she contacted cinematographers in Wuhan to record the devastating illnesses and deaths caused by the virus. Much of the filming had to be undercover and witnesses spoke anonymously fearing punishment by a deceitful government. Nanfu Wang was further shocked when she saw the same thing happening in the U.S. Despite freedom of the press, government officials were silencing health-care professionals and downplaying the severity of the pandemic. As New Yorker film critic Richard Brody wrote in his review, “Wang reveals, along with the medical crisis, another related danger: the temptation of people everywhere to embrace authoritarianism and its lies as a response to complex and terrifying realities.”

Cast

Nanfu Wang (Narrator). Fearing imprisonment, most spoke anonymously.

Why Stream This Film?

What separates IN THE SAME BREATH from other documentaries about the Covid-19 pandemic is filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s deep understanding of China. Another component is the way Nanfu Wang uncovers the deceit and lies in both China and the U.S. when the pandemic started. The Chinese government punished citizens for telling the truth; in the United States, several politicians downplayed the virus as being no more than a bad case of the flu and health-care professionals were vilified for reporting the truth.