And this does not only refer to the order in the face that the plastic surgeons are restoring, but also about the order in society. This film is about ruthless people in the less civilized world using acid to disfigure people's faces. Or I should maybe not say "people's" but "females" as this documentary is about Mohammed Jawad and some of the patients he works with. All of them had to go through the horror I mentioned before and it was actually nice to see one of the offenders being sentenced to a double life jail sentence near the end. This shows that the legal system has progressed so much that there is hardly no sexual discrimination anymore or that such horrible acts can somewhat be justified by religion. Still I have a little criticism about these Academy-Award-winning 40 minutes. There is nothing I really learned from this documentary. Everything portrayed in there is good and the doctor is a very admirable man, but I am not sure how to rate this from the perspective of filmmaking. Maybe it would also have been better to not make this film in order to protect the doctor from barbaric acts himself as some people may not be happy at all with him touching women in one of their most sensitive areas. Sometimes anonymity isn't a bad thing. So all in all, I recommend this documentary and it is nice to see the two directors getting into a prolific career after this one. I am just not too enthusiastic about it like many other viewers.

Saving Face (2012)**** (out of 4)Shocking and depressing documentary taking a look at the acid attacks in Pakistan, which usually happen to women and by the hands of those closest to them. SAVING FACE is a terrific documentary and certainly one of the most shocking I've seen but at the same time it's hard to really recommend it because of how depressing it actually is. It's just so shocking to see a place where this type of thing happens on a regular basis but I'm sure the counter argument would be that certain places, ala America, have much more domestic murders than the acid attacks in Pakistan. Either way, seeing the aftermath of these attacks are pretty hard to watch and the documentary centers on a surgeon who tries to help some of the women by working on their faces. It's even more shocking to see that these type of attacks happen so much that there was a special hospital built just for these cases. We hear the stories of several women who were attacked by men, mainly their husbands for a wide range of reasons including the women wanting a divorce or the women simply not doing something the husband wanted. Hearing these stories are just downright scary and seeing how much pain the women must deal with by simply looking the way they do have having people constantly looking at them. SAVING FACE certainly tells a story that you won't forget and we even get to hear by a couple of the men accused of the crime and it's almost as shocking trying to hear their side of the story.

I doubt anything shown on TV in the month of March will be as haunting or as oppressing as Saving Face, which took home the award for Best Documentary Short at The 84th Academy Awards - the first award given to a film from Pakistan. The film's subject matter is touchy, but its delivery is more than commendable. It tells the depressing stories of women who have been victim to acid attacks in Pakistan, yet offers optimism and hope that justice will be served at one point in time.We're taken to Islamabad, where we are informed that hundreds of women are victim to acid attacks each year, and many are left unreported. One of the women, named Zakia, must resort to walking around town with her face wrapped in a sheet, with her eyes behind sunglasses. She states that her husband was a drug addict and an alcoholic who would suck up all her money. When there was no more money, she'd be abused and deemed lazy. It wasn't long until her husband dowsed her in acid leaving almost half of her face in unprecedented condition.Another woman, this one pregnant, by the name of Rukhsana, stated that her husband threw acid on her face, followed by being soaked with gasoline by her sister-in-law, before being lit on fire by her mother-in-law. The husband, now in prison, states that she lit herself aflame, and that half the women in the Islamabad burn unit have done such an act to themselves. It's more than unforgivable to commit a crime of this magnitude, and then to say that the victim committed an act of self-harm.The film not only follows the lives of these women, letting them tell their stories the way they want them to be told, but also focuses on Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon working in London who travels back to his homeland to operate on victims of acid attacks. Jawad is an admirable figure, one who speaks softly and is clearly proud of his contribution to the women of Islamabad.So many Academy Award winning shorts are left unseen, and thanks to HBO, which will be airing this short all through the month of March, that will not be the case with Saving Face. This is a remarkable documentary, one that could've easily been of feature film status, depicting inequalities between men and women in separate countries. One of the most painful lines to hear in the film is when Rukhsana states that she hopes she gives birth to a boy so that his adult life won't be as ominous and as consumed with fear as one a woman must endure.Saving Face is inconceivable and brilliant in its efforts to document a crime largely unknown to Americans. Sadly, the attacks are starting to take place around the globe. I remember seeing a TV special talking about an English model named Katie Piper, whose acid attack left her face very rigid, rough, and irreversible. The thought of people resorting to the level of permanent facial damage to a woman is depressing to imagine, most likely immensely disheartening to experience, and impossible to justify. Thankfully, we have documentaries like this one to inform and enlighten us.Starring: Zakia, Rukhsana, and Dr. Mohammad Jawad. Directed by: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, and Daniel Junge.

Really every high school student around the world should be required to watch this movie. It is an incredibly touching lesson in human triumph to not only continue to live after unspeakable cruelty but to excel at life. The women in this story demonstrate that the incredible journey they undertake to gain their lives back is nothing short of miraculous. It is unfortunate that often documentaries are overlooked when one is considering going to the movies. I would urge you to spend 40 minutes and watch this with your family and then engage in a discussion. The merits of this documentary go without saying. This documentary is well deserving of the 2012 Documentary Short Academy Award.