A work of God

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Movie
German title A work of God
Original title Something the Lord Made
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2004
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Joseph Sargent
script Peter Silverman and Robert Caswell
production Robert W. Cort et al
music Christopher Young
camera Donald M. Morgan
cut Michael Brown
occupation

A Work of God is a film that shows the collaboration between heart surgeon Dr. Alfred Blalock and his assistant Vivien Thomas during heart surgery on cyanotic children. It is based in part on the article "Like Something The Lord Made" by Katie McCabe, which appeared in 1989 in the newspaper "The Washingtonian". The film is based on a true story.

action

Nashville 1930: Black Vivien Thomas works as a carpenter to earn the money for college and subsequent medical studies. Due to the economic situation, however, it is released and takes a job as a janitor in the laboratory of Dr. Alfred Blalock . He quickly finds out that Thomas has an extraordinary talent for medical matters, and so Vivien Thomas quickly rises to the position of “laboratory manager”. The bankruptcy of the bank, where Thomas deposited his savings, forces Thomas to give up his dream of studying medicine and to work constantly in the laboratory, as he now has a family to look after. Blalock, for whom the position in Nashville is just a step on his career ladder , does research into the area of wound shock and why it can lead to death in many cases. His successful treatment method, which he developed with the help of Thomas, saved the lives of many soldiers during World War II .

In 1943, Dr. Blalock as head of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore . Vivien Thomas goes along as his laboratory manager. While looking for a new area of ​​research, Alfred Blalock met the pediatrician Helen Brooke Taussig , who deals with cyanotic children (blue baby phenomenon = insufficient flow of oxygenated blood into the heart). They both decide to find a surgical method to help these children.

Vivien Thomas' talent in the field of surgery soon becomes indispensable for Blalock in this task and it is also thanks to him that a promising surgical method is developed. This will later be referred to as the Blalock-Taussig anastomosis .

While the medical collaboration between the two men, Blalock and Thomas, is crowned with success, Thomas in particular has to fight against the problems of racial segregation that are constantly present even in the north of the USA . Alfred Blalock, who never dealt with such topics, does not register these problems and the resulting conflict of Thomas.

This lack of interest in Blalock ultimately leads to the breakdown of friendship and medical collaboration. Vivien Thomas can barely accept that his boss receives all the laurels for the successful operation of the cyanosis children. But the fact that even Blalock doesn't say a word about Thomas's involvement in the success leads Vivien to quit. Vivien Thomas has to bury his dream of studying medicine very quickly due to bureaucratic obstacles, and so he earns his living as a sales agent for medicines - a job that does not fulfill him. Vivien Thomas returns to Blalock's laboratory at Johns Hopkins.

Baltimore 1964: The segregation is canceled and V. Thomas has in the twenty years at the University worked his way up to become a successful teacher in the medical field, although he never studied medicine. This activity fills him completely and so he turns down Blalock's offer to move with him to Columbia University .

The film ends in 1976 with the award of an honorary doctorate to Vivien Thomas by Johns Hopkins University "in recognition of a pioneering scientist, outstanding teacher and qualified laboratory technician".

useful information

Alfred Blalock describes the way in which Vivien Thomas sutures the dogs on which the new surgical method is tried out as a “work of God” (Something the Lord made).

The two main actors Alan Rickman and Mos Def each earned an Emmy nomination for their performance in the film . In total, the film was nominated for nine Emmys and received three of these awards.

The sensitive film music comes from Christopher Young and was published in 2008 in an edition of 1000 copies by the BSX label.

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