Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, and Anonymous’ 76 Days is a raw, immediate, gripping, and powerful documentary about the 76 days of lockdown at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China. Since the United States still hasn’t come to terms with the consequences of this deadly pandemic, it’s extremely startling to see these early days of the outbreak and the ways that health care providers attempted to respond to the crisis. Wu and his co-directors achieve a vérité immediacy which is hard to watch at times, but is certainly what we need to see more of right now – hospitals overwhelmed and unable to treat all of the patients suffering from the virus, the exhaustion of the health care workers, parents separated from newborn children due to the risk of exposure… it places the realities of the pandemic in stark and very clear terms. And yet, as difficult as the situation is, Wu (who edited footage that his co-directors shot and smuggled out of China), manages to find moments of humor in the midst of the tragedy, as well as moments of deep human warmth and connection while these health care workers from across the country struggle to save lives and show compassion for those in their care. It’s a powerful film that offers a stark contrast to the abysmal way that our own country has responded to this crisis through the ineptitude of the Trump administration and the selfishness of so many of our people, and it’s a film that reminds us that we have yet to grieve this tremendous loss of life that was entirely preventable.