Bowen’s Heart (2022) Film Review
Of the many ways a film like Bowen’s Heart could be accomplished, its filmmakers have gone for a very poetic yet realist one. In the film, a family has gone through the raw process of accepting the twisted side of nature. A flaw in human evolution is enough to awaken our sense of survival (and living every day as if it were the last one), and the Hammitt are a very particular nucleus of hope. They’re the subject of Lexi and Zach Read’s documentary about a small child facing the hardest test of life and how his family is a strong backbone due to the most wonderful smile in the world.
Bowen’s Heart is a beautiful chronicle about love-driven resilience in the face of unpredictability. A family of six has grown around the basic fact that Bowen, one of the children, has been born with a heart condition. After surviving the endurance test of birth and open-heart surgery mere days after he was born, and another surgery a few years after that, Bowen looks healthy. His mother and father are aware Bowen can’t live life the same way his siblings do, but they’re just living one day at a time. However, they’re also certain another surgery is necessary for extending Bowen’s chances at surviving. This is the documentary that depicts that process, from the day the inevitable has come, until Bowen faces that battle again.
The story of the Hammitts is one of hope above everything else. But the film isn’t solely focused on them trying to make Bowen’s life easier. Not even he wants to make everything easier. They’re just a group celebrating life as it should be. It’s why the film never steps into excessively dramatic territory. Bowen’s attitude is strong enough to make you forget this is a child with a heart condition. The Hammitts are happy as well as connected with Bowen’s celebratory presence. Optimism is an understatement.
Nevertheless, the third act of Bowen’s Heart is inevitable. We know where this is going. The ice-cold floors of a hospital are a battleground for Bowen’s reencounter with the medical staff. Through a harrowing set of scenes we bear witness to the Hammitts facing their worst fear. Bowen has to go through surgery again and the preparations are heartbreaking. Being objective is hard when Bowen remains with a smile even when he’s taken away to surgery.
The Hammitts have opened up entirely to a filmmaking crew whose goal is to open a window into the intimate setting of a hopeful family. Their grit is contagious and Bowen’s persona is intoxicating. In Bowen’s Heart innocence is shattered due to a realistic situation, and childhood is really a different process. When Bowen gets asked if he’s famous, he doesn’t even care. He just wants to be Bowen Hammitt, the child who loves to sing.
This is a beautiful, beautiful film.
