American Heart

Aired on PBS's America ReFramed series, filmmaker Chris Newberry's documentary profiles the largely unsung Center for International Health clinic in St. Paul, MN, a facility that specializes in caring for the well-being of refugee immigrants from around the world. Many of the patients have already been victims of civil strife, persecution, and genocide; now they face medical crises in an alien culture. Fortunately, Dr. Patricia Walker, chief medical director, was born in Taiwan and can speak many patients' languages. Cases include an AIDS-afflicted Ethiopian dissident, who may be mentally unbalanced and vows—no matter how dire his diagnosis—that he will return to Africa to educate and enlighten his people; a widowed Burmese farmer (and prolific songwriter), driven out of the country by the military regime, and now assailed by multiple illnesses; and an elderly Cambodian patriarch with terminal liver cancer. These individual stories of grief and resilience are interesting enough on their own terms, and while hot-button topics such as immigration reform and healthcare costs are not directly addressed, American Heart puts a compelling human face on these issues. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)