OLIVER SACKS--HIS OWN LIFE: This is a biographical documentary by Ric Burns telling the life of Oliver Sacks in Sacks's own words. We find out that Sacks's parents' and the British government's attitude toward homosexuality drove him into exile in the United States but also sent him even deeper into his research. In addition to his scientific exploits, he also devoted himself to body building, motorcycles, drugs, and understanding his homosexuality. All these elements, scientific or not, combine to give us an unexpected view of the whole man. The sections where when the film goes in the details of how Sacks worked his clinical material into books is the least interesting and could have been excised. Released 09/23/20; running on PBS April 9. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4)

					Mark R. Leeper
					Copyright 2021 Mark R. Leeper