Review of Praying With Lior (2008) by Michael S — 02 Apr 2008

While this the premise for this documentary is about a boy with down syndrome who has a passion for davening (praying) that's a camouflage for a story about a simple boy who has unconditional love for everyone around him and about the people in his life who love him back.

While one sibling may be jealous of the attention Lior receives (which is 100% normal for a sibling), the other two siblings, the brother especially, has an amazing devotion to their brother. Lior may have down syndrome but he has such a passion for life and really only sees the good in the world, and most people could really learn a lot from him.

Also, by the end of many documentaries where families allow the director into their homes, the audience gets the feeling they will never be invited back. This isn't always the director's fault as often new developments arise that the director must follow to tell the entire story.

In this film though, the director paints a very nice portrait of the family that is fair but also seems generally honest and leaves no doubt that both the family and the director have total respect of each other, which was nice to see.

If you enjoyed this movie, I also recommend the comparable and also inspiring "Autism: The Musical".