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Saturday, August 5, 2017

'The Country Doctor' DVD: Calls de Chez

The Icarus Films July 25, 2017 DVD release of the 2016 French dramedy "The Country Doctor" (nee "Irreplaceable") once again shows that that purveyor of the best documentaries out there always has a good reason for cases such as this in which it strays into fiction territory. The cred. of "Doctor" includes writer/director Thomas Lilti being a former physician.

The following YouTube clip of the trailer for "Doctor" perfectly highlights the common themes of heart and humor regarding tales of medical professionals tending to rural folk.


The titular small community general physician Jean-Pierre is beloved among his rural patients because he treats them well in both senses of the word and prescribes his treatments accordingly. In this sense, he is a pure holistic medical provider. Circumstances beyond the control of Jean-Pierre prompt colleague Nores to send former nurse/newly graduated doctor Nathalie to Jean-Pierre for general training to eventually to assume full care of the practice of her mentor.

Literally neither person nor fowl take to the new girl doctor in town. For his part, Jean-Pierre demonstrates a mix of compassion and sadism in how he helps his new co-worker adjust to her new normal. An amusing example of this involves a snipe hunt that apparently is more clearly a ruse to the audience than to Nathalie.

Much of the "dram" relates to Jean-Pierre and Nathalie vigorously disagreeing regarding the best means for treating a chronically ill 92 year-old patient. Jean-Pierre strongly advocates allowing the man to remain at home for reasons that become clearer later in the film, and Nathalie argues just as aggressively that the man requires hospitalization.

Deeper insight comes regarding Jean-Pierre validating the theory that doctors make the worst patients. He is not especially co-operative with his physician and does not take full advantage of his resources.

The above elements make "Doctor" a good prescription for folks looking for entertainment that simultaneously does not insult their intelligence or require a medical degree.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Doctor" is prescribed to either email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.








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