SummaryThe Cave tells the story of a hidden underground hospital in Syria and the unprecedented female-led team who risk their lives to provide medical care to the besieged local population.
Directed By:Feras Fayyad
Written By:Alisar Hasan, Feras Fayyad
The Cave
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
My Score
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
90% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 7, 2019
100
The Cave may be the saddest, most infuriating chronicle of the ghastly ravages of war on a country’s most vulnerable citizens —children — ever made.
Oct 18, 2019
91
It delivers something more and better, too: a moving, beautifully humanistic story whose inevitable hardships are laced with real hope and levity.
Oct 18, 2019
88
In a sea of so much tragedy, it’s a marvel to stop and consider each individual’s experience fighting the tide.
Dec 10, 2019
80
To say The Cave would break anyone’s heart feels flimsy. Like Ballour, it has a purpose: to focus the world’s attention on the suffering of Syrian people.
Oct 16, 2019
80
The Cave reminds us of the horrors of a situation we have perhaps become numb to and shows us the unforgettable people who don’t have that luxury.
Oct 11, 2019
75
Its depiction of the perpetual terror of living in a war zone will stick with viewers long after The Cave’s doctors have left Ghouta.
Oct 15, 2019
50
It’s a monotonous descent into agony that coasts on the impossibility of anyone walking away unaffected by the imagery.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
73% Positive
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
7% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
20% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Nov 22, 2019
9
While the hospital personnel at The Cave learn to differentiate by sound the different types of warplanes flying overhead and their country of origin for survival, it was the heart-wrenching sound of another stretcher rolling into the hospital while making the floor and walls shake with the weight of a human being fighting for his life that I dreaded the most during my time watching the documentary.
As a viewer I was struggling between wondering how much more of the reality presented to me I could take and wanting to reach through the screen and help them. That palpable was their urgency.
It is the unfiltered questions coming out of Dr. Amani’s own soul during her moments of most abatement and stress like “Is God really watching?” that fall like a bomb and shake the foundations of her own reality and the morals and practices of the culture around her.
The Cave is a masterclass in both documentary filmmaking and in humanity.
Production Company:
- Danish Documentary Production
- National Geographic
- TV2 Danmark
- Südwestrundfunk (SWR)
- Doha Film Institute
- Sun Yat-Sen Cultural Foundation
- International Media Support
- Det Danske Filminstitut
- Docs Up Fund
- Normandy for Peace
- Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion
- Hecat Studio
- Madam Films
Release Date:Oct 18, 2019
Duration:1 h 47 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:Hope shines in the darkest places
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
