Rain in my Heart was an incredibly touching yet dark documentary about the wide spread issue that is alcoholism, and at points I was touched by the way in which Watson presented his subjects and their problems. The most obvious example is the scene where Vanda (being drunk) tells Paul about the monsters in her head, even though she did not want to talk about that when she was sober. Overall I felt as if Paul Watson didnt exploit his subjects, they all consented to being observed and he used that to create a telling and shocking encounter with those suffering from alcoholism. At one point it says: This type of documentary is not the best way to explain or explore alcoholisms origins. And the audience is living the pain through the subjects, and that is the best outcome to achieve, making the subjects exploitation almost worthwhile. He never appeared to be controlling or interregative in a dominant sense, he remained calm when interviewing his subjects and took their replies without expresing his personal opinion. Outside, the sparrows on the roof Are chirping in the dripping rain. "My heart is aching. To clarify, I dont think hes exploiting anyone in this film. But I find he violated the rules of documentary as he did interfere with the subjects and pushed them to an extent that made them fall back. The game uses a beautiful and funny graphics engine to make everything look. Change). However, many critics point out how these subjects are all vulnerable and incapable of really understanding what they are signing themselves up for. Their addiction affected them not only when they were drunk, but physically as well as mentally, when they were sober too. Nigel died during the course of filming Rain in my Heart, leaving Kath and two teenage children. Forum Member. Documentary which follows four alcohol abusers - Vanda, aged 43; Mark, 29; Nigel, 49 and Toni, 26 - from the impoverished Medway towns of north Kent. However, Watson once again denies accusations of exploitation for when he arrives at Vandas to see the door open and clarifies his reason for waiting by stating of course you wait, you dont just go in and more importantly, when the action begins to unfold with a drunken Vanda, Watson says that he must regain his job as someone there to just film what they do to their selves and reassures her that when she begins to talk delicately about her abusive past, that he will not use this footage in the future if she does not want to. Mark is being exploited towards the end of the film when he goes crazy and starts crying, screaming, vomiting etc. We have to remember that all the subjects gave their full consent to be filmed. Thus, having the camera in front of them made me feel that there was a sense of pressure on them to fulfil a certain image of an alcoholic. Rain In My Heart is a weird documentary to watch for me because it is based very near my hometown. It is one of overwhelming sickness and reduced privacy/independence. Due to the nature of the subject, I believe there were always going to be complex ethical issues in terms of filming. What is interesting about this documentary is that when Paul Watson went to visit Vandas home and saw that she had relapsed, he admitted that he does develop emotional ties to the subjects that he is filming, but that he has the ability to stand back. Probably. This is not to say there isnt artful construction in the film. I feel that Paul Watson did exploit his subjects to some extent. Its a very tricky position for Watson. It affected me emotionally and made me understand what an alcoholics reasons might be for drinking, and sometimes it might not just be that they want a drink. All Watsons subjects agreed to being filmed whilst they were drunk before the filming commenced, and so the question is not should Watson have kept filming?, but rather should Watson have included that part of the footage?. June 27, 2015 by webadmin Watch on YouTube Watch on Brilliant, unflinching documentary on alcoholism by Kent film maker Paul Watson. Overall, I see both sides of the argument. A prime example of this in the documentary was when Vanda (under the influence of alcohol) decided to share her demons and reasons for her addiction. Another point worth making is that every person has a different view of whats going too far. Twenty-nine-year-old Mark consumes two bottles of vodka per day. There are certainly points in this film in which I believe that the subjects were exploited. At the same time, I do think Paul Watson exploited his subjects. To illustrate, each of the documentary objects have had their own monsters in their heads, to my mind, they are in a sense weak or have a big weakness- alcohol, therefore Pauls use of characters (Vandas) confession about her monsters or at the same time the reasons why she might be came to drinking helps not only the filmmaker but us in getting closer to this unfamiliar woman and her story. There are multiple narratives that composes the documentary surrounding each alcoholic; delving into their health, issues and families through interviews and visual representations of their effects. In my opinion, this exploited them as the repetition was giving them a personality that they do not possess and is therefore, a form of misrepresentation. (LogOut/ It is complicated to say if Paul Watsons techniques were successful in the making of the film, as there are arguments from both sides. Ive never seen alcoholism go to this extent. It is a difficult film to watch because of the subject matter it deals with. This scene is perhaps one of the more uncomfortable in the film as Watson is merely documenting Vandas relapse back to alcohol and the range of mood swings she encounters. I immediately recognised the castle in the establishing shot in the opening sequence and was taken aback that this documentary was made literally where I have grown up and gone to school. I feel as though Watson was trying to be as ethical as possible, baring in mind his need to capture this shocking footage in order to create the Documentary. Kath now struggles on a severely limited income. Thanos was gone. Four alcoholics in and out of hospital over a two month period, reality at its most real. After all, I am satisfied by what Watson did to deal with accusations. On the other hand, he showed the subjects at their worst, but almost continuously. Outside, the sparrows on the roof Are chirping in the dripping rain.Rain in my heart; rain on the roof; And memory sleeps beneath the gray And the windless sky and brings no dreams Of any well remembered day. Paul Watson does a good job at creating face and gives the appearance of being genuinely interested and sympathetic so in that way it is easier for us to lower our defensive walls and absorb what the documentary is trying to tell us. So yes, as we saw during the screening, he was primarily affected by alcohols effect on his father and then consequently, his entire family. It is true that Watson recorded all of what the people he met were saying, even the most intimate and private details of their existence. Paul Watson was capturing the real lives of these alcoholics, he was not interfering with their actions and allowed alcoholics who were told if they drink anymore they could die, to drink. At points during the documentary we can see that Watson is clearly affected by watching the subjects drinking habit, however he does mention that this observational style of filming and the stand back nature of it is much more achievable through separating ones own personal attitudes from the subject. Finally, the article posted below discusses Rain in my Heart alongside other documentaries of Paul Watson. Paul Watsons ethical procedures are certainly questionable. However, that would ruin his fly on the wall style of filmmaking. But while Watson explains he also interacts with the subject instead of just observing. Of the four, two die whilst in hospital and a third dies within five . Chapter 1. In Rain in my Heart she is living in a council flat. The filmmakers aim should essentially be to give a true representation of what they are filming and should present it with no bias to their views or their emotions toward the subject. For example, when Vandas temper reaches a certain point and she slams the phone down repetitively, wanting to break it and smash it pieces. Maybe the subjects are letting Watson film them like this as a message to say this is a life you dont want to live and in saying that does Watsons exploiting of the subjects send a bigger message that in turn may help people going through the same things. The way sounds from different moments would melt into each other reminded me of the background cacaphony of hospitals, with distant melodies of monisters, doctors and patients fusing. To judge whether or not Watson exploited the people in his film wed have to know exactly how hes profited from them. As he sits and tells the audience his own personal views, this for me, made him seem more human. It is hard to be objective about this film because it is so easily relatable to me, I live equidistant from Medway hospital and Maidstone hospital, and most people avoid Medway because of its reputation. Watson even edits in clips of himself discussing how he felt when seeing his subjects cross back to alcohol, he states I lost that remoteness that I have as a filmmaker I get emotionally involved with people but I manage to stand back and observe and I get a lot of critism for that. It is not a pleastant sound. This specific example also leads me to point out how, by digging deep into these miserable cases, the audience would get a clear idea of WHO alcoholics really are and HOW they got involved with alcoholism. It shows the situation without making of adjustments. When researching the film I found a web page (which is a old BBC one). Watson used creative techniques through editing of previous footage of Vanda. However, it doesnt justify the ignore her drinking even he had a chance to stop her. Filmed over the course of a year, Paul Watson's camera follows them from Gillingham . MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Former WCCO sports director Mark Rosen says that his wife Denise has died, three years after being diagnosed with brain cancer. What I think is that Watson did not exploit his subjects in the film. This powerful documentary from fly-on-the-wall pioneer Paul Watson provides a raw account of four alcohol abusers from the impoverished Medway towns of north Kent. Raining in My Heart Lyrics The sun is out The sky is blue There's not a cloud To spoil the view But it's raining Raining In My Heart The Weather Man Says "Clear today" He doesn't know You've. These subjects were all willing participants, however their capacity to give consent comes into question. Sometimes during the film I felt like I wanted to intervene in order to stop what the interviewees were struggling with while telling their stories. 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