Review of ‘Incompatível com a Vida’: raw and heartbreaking
Director: Eliza reaches | Playing time: 99 minutes | Year: 2023
“We consider this condition to be incompatible with life.” This is how euphemistic and unimaginably cruel is the observation of an army of doctors when one day the filmmaker Eliza Capai has to return for an ultrasound. The doctors do not trust her and diagnose several complications in her first child, the one that is about to be born. What follows is an even greater hell of disbelief, inability to accept, and having to give birth to the lifeless child.
The independent Brazilian documentary filmmaker had a very different vision when it came to documenting her pregnancy. The country is under lockdown in May 2020 and protests against current President Jair Bolsonaro and therefore social unrest are increasing. Capai tries to fill the void created by the pandemic by documenting her upcoming and highly desired motherhood. Until that horrible news turns his life completely upside down.
Capai also throws us off for a moment. Everything remains peaceful and the joy of pregnancy has no end. Interview other mothers about what it means to be or become a mother. How undeniable, magical and inexplicable is the bond with the (unborn) child. But when news comes that something is wrong with Capai’s own son, the mother who brought her on camera appears to have suffered a similar fate.
From the documentary Incompatible with life It’s exactly the kind of movie you don’t want to see beforehand. Because you may not like the topic. Because it’s far from you. Or mainly because the theme is very heavy. Precisely then it is a question of confrontation, because Capai has made a very important film.
Capai confronts the world with the fact that not all pregnancies develop as romantic ideals attempt to portray. Because unfortunately for many women, being pregnant does not mean choosing baby clothes, decorating the baby’s room and taking breathing classes with the future father. Having a child is a small, fragile miracle, and expectant parents understandably prefer not to think about the downsides of a pregnancy that ends badly.
Leave all that aversion aside, is the unspoken message. Capai goes even further when he also stimulates discussion about abortion. In Brazil the rules are extremely strict. That is why women look for escapes in the illegal circuit or abroad. This is because being forced to give birth to a stillborn child is, if possible, even more difficult to swallow than having to prematurely terminate a tragic pregnancy.
The filmmaker does not shy away from any taboo and it was an unprecedentedly brave decision to continue filming while pain and disbelief completely took over her life. His bravery is expressed in graphic representations that surprisingly show the harshness and injustice that existence can have. It breaks your heart when Capai has to give birth to the child and then immediately have to say goodbye to him.
Incompatible with life It’s raw, real, and an experience that leaves a lasting impression. You won’t be left behind. But bad stories also need to be told. If only to realize that this tragedy happens to millions of women every year.
Incompatible with life can be seen in IN BAD.