Review of Unrest (2017) by Patrice M — 01 Jan 2018

Millions upon millions belong to this secret club of invisibility. Trapped in bodies at war with itself; fearing and discovering which task will be shuttered forever when the dawn breaks. Few know they can not sustain a life. To work, go to school, attend family functions or walk the block is impossible.

Appointments with countless doctors and clinics seeking the elusive elixir that will return them to life as they knew it. The painful realization that help is not on the way and medicine has turned its back, nothing to offer. Days, weeks, years and decades fade into one another. Birthdays come and go, friendships slip away, and families move on marking time with each birth, each wedding, and each death. This is the front row seat given to those with ME.

Jennifer Brea has done the impossible. She has given us a view from that front row seat. The curtain is drawn back, allowing us to witness the road she and her husband Omar are forced to travel. Unrelenting in her search for answers, she discovers countless others online, lost to the inconceivable horror of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Unrest is so much more than an Oscar contender. It is a global call to action. The internet has become the portal for this unstoppable army forming one click at a time. Once in a blue moon? Once is all it takes.