Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders

A remarkable look at the people behind an organization that understands its limitations.

Free of grandstanding and sentimentality, this powerful 2008 documentary follows missions to Liberia and the Congo undertaken by volunteers for Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Living in Emergency is anything but bleeding-heart propaganda.

With rare candor and a refreshing lack of piety, first-timers and combat-weary veterans exhibit their camaraderie, euphoria and burnout as the camera documents their struggles with logistics, horror, death and self-doubt.

Gripping, sobering, inspiring stuff.

The film confirms it's hard to do brain surgery on a battlefield. But it doesn't take a brain surgeon to think it could go deeper.

Documentarian Mark N. Hopkins gives us a mature look at the bracing yet very human personalities attracted to crisis.