Life According to Sam

2013
8.2| 1h30m| en| More Info
Released: 21 October 2013
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Synopsis

Progeria is an extremely rare and fatal disease, exemplified by accelerated aging in the children who are afflicted by it. There is no treatment. There is no cure. Enter Doctors Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns. When their son, Sam, was diagnosed with progeria at age two, the prognosis was grim—the couple were simply told to enjoy the few years they had left with their only son—but they weren’t willing to give up that easily. They spearheaded a campaign to save Sam and the other children in the world who share this devastating illness. In a little more than a decade, their extraordinary advances have led not only to identifying the gene that causes progeria and testing the first experimental drug to treat it but also to the amazing discovery that it is linked to the aging process in all of us.

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Reviews

Precisett This movie is magnificent!
Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen
Beanbioca As Good As It Gets
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Jerry Ward This film took more time then necessary to make the viewer aware or the ravages of this disease. I found myself wanting to fast forward at places where time seemed to stand still. I would have rather seen a movie on this subject with less focus on a single individual. I would like to see another ob this topic better produced and directed. This one should have been edited down to about 60 min. and it would have earned a 10 from me.
GeoPierpont I only know about Progeria from this film. Sam's spirited enthusiastic and keenly goal oriented mentality made me soar with joy. He is one fortunate child to have so many wonderful caring brilliant people support and surround him. He recognizes the importance of the work his parents are involved in to prevent this disease from taking just a handful of children throughout the world. You see him bravely face the endless procedures to document his progress in drug trials. You share his love of music and the drumline.I rarely get to catch a glimpse of such a beautiful child and his life not devoured by death, disease and doom.Very inspiring documentary about a boy who just wants to live and make a contribution to society. I feel blessed to have known him through this vehicle and pray that the efforts of all involved will produce a cure.High recommend for all who have a challenging chronic illness or children with incurable diseases. Very uplifting especially when you are not sure of the outcome. Sadly Sam has since passed but his memory will be forever captured in many hearts.
Andy Radford I have been rating movies on IMDb for quite a few years but have never written a review. After seeing this documentary I felt I needed to write something that would encourage people to watch it.Being a father of a 2 year old this documentary was hard to watch at first. I found myself putting myself in the parent's position and found it heart breaking. The more you watch the more of Sam's personality shines through and this brought a smile to my face. By the end I felt uplifted and lucky that my little boy is healthy. I will never take that for granted.This should be watched by everybody. If you can watch this without welling up then you have no soul.Sam has sadly passed away recently. My thoughts go to his parents and friends who must miss a brilliant and brave boy.
Tembrock This is one of those films that I'm simply a better person for having seen. I was fortunate enough to see it at the Sundance Film Festival and enjoy and Q&A with both the filmmakers and Sam himself with his parents (via Skype on the big screen). It is a wonderfully intimate look at an incredibly challenging turn of events for this family that discovers their son has this rare disease and the choices they make in reaction to a bleak prognosis by doctors. Most of all I think I enjoyed Sam's perspective. As the movie title indicates we're let in to the world view of this young man and even as I type this I well up in recalling his wonderfully optimistic and yet realistic look at life. Sometimes I see films like this advertised and I avoid them because I think the subject matter is going to be difficult and I'd rather see something more escapist. That's fine but I would only say that if that is your take after seeing the subject matter, see the film anyway! You'll not regret it. In many ways it's extremely life affirming and very positive. Bravo to the filmmakers and to the family for sharing their lives with us.