Educational Media Reviews Online

Filmmaker Su Friedrich has documented her attempts to deal with her frustrating health problems and face approaching middle age with wit, honesty, and fortitude in this engaging production. Her captivating use of imagery from the needlework sampler representing her six surgeries, to her gardening, to the handheld camera technique which is dizzying at times, represents her unique struggle and simultaneously touches that familiar part of anyone who has tried walking through the maze of uncovering a chronic health problem.

Using on screen text and readings from medical reference books replacing a typical documentary narration, Freidrich creates a multi-layered, yet holistic slice of an American life, intricately weaving together the physical, emotional and psychological. As her relationships with family, friends, her companion and even herself are tested by her numerous surgeries and unexplained illnesses (seemingly attributed to extremely high prolactin levels), her natural sincerity and humor create a relationship with the viewer.

Technically skillful and well done, Odds of Recovery is a special film, and in an educational setting will be useful to fill a specialized niche. Most likely not an essential purchase, but a fine addition to collections supporting college and university level film studies, women’s studies and health sciences collections.