“Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice” Netflix Documentary Review by Brooke Daugherty : Pop Culture Leftovers

“Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice” Netflix Documentary Review by Brooke Daugherty

October 4, 2020 9:59 am |

A Buddhist scientist from Bangkok decides to cryo-preserve his daughter’s brain. As scandal swirls around the family, they struggle to grieve a child that, in their view, is suspended between death and a future reawakening.

Losing a child is never easy. For Dr. Sahatorn Naovaratpong, it was especially hard. So much so, he used his lifelong fascination with the power of cold to have her cryogenically frozen in hopes of restoring her once there is a cure for her cancer. The film documenting Dr. Naovaratpong’s quest debuted at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2019 and was then picked up by Netflix. Pailin Wedel directed and co-wrote the film, with Nina Ijäs.

We see the family through the years as Dr. Naovaratpong videoed everything to one day show his daughter Einz, before her birth or eventual cancer diagnosis. There are interviews with the family, including Einz’s older brother Matrix, who has been studying science to one day take over the duty of caring for her frozen specimen.

Matrix travels to the US to meet with Brain Preservation Foundation Prize Winner Robert McIntyre to discuss the probability of reviving Einz. McIntyre says there is a .01% chance she can be brought back with memories in tact as it now stands. Matrix is a bit disappointed to find out she may not be revived in his lifetime, but when he calls home to give his parents the news, his father says they will wait 1000 years if they have to.

We find out the Naovaratpongs have another baby girl and they name her Einz Einz to honor their deceased child. Dr. Naovaratpong says she is not a replacement and he loves her very much. These last few minutes of the doc are more emotional. Their mission to save their daughter healed one day, is heart wrenching. This film is well done, but not ground breaking or overly emotional.

PCL Rating: High Taste It

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅