2023 Movie
Dir. Henry Roosevelt · United States of America · English
While it lacks the incisiveness of a documentary of its scale, Take Care of Maya is fascinating and sensitive enough to bring justice to its delicate subject matter
It’s a bit on the sensational side, but this Netflix documentary about a family torn apart by the medical industry is fascinating and empathetic enough to bring justice to its delicate subject matter. Director Henry Roosevelt takes care to use as many angles as possible in presenting the documentary’s central mystery —why is the hospital so insistent on separating Maya from her mother Beata?—while also leaving enough room for the audience to come to their own conclusions. I only wish they would probe into that question a bit more and get experts to hypothesize, for instance, what exactly would the hospital get out of allegedly lying and if it’s an occurrence that’s been happening in many places other than Florida. Painting it as a systemic problem might’ve given it more punch, though admittedly, it’s already stirring and powerful as it is.
When Jack and Beata Kowalski are wrongfully accused of child abuse after their 10-year-old daughter Maya visits the ER, a nightmare unfolds.
"Heartbreaking and infuriating, a document of a bizarre tragedy that seems destined to never get full closure for anyone involved."
— Kate Erbland
A family from Florida reveals the harrowing ordeal they went through after nine-year-old Maya is rushed to the hospital for exhibiting strange symptoms.
The children’s grief is something that will haunt you for a good while. Seeing Maya and Kylie grow up via home videos and then grieve later on camera is an unsettling experience that really drives home just how uniquely jarring and unfair the whole situation is. On the flip side, the many families that have come forward with similar experiences, all after hearing about Maya’s case, is an inspiring sight that is hopefully the first step in this arduous but worthwhile fight against medical corporations.
As if being a parent isn’t stressful enough, now they have medical abductions to worry about???
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
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