# ‘American Doctor’ movie review: As harrowing a depiction of tragedy as non-fiction cinema can get

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/american-doctor-movie-review-as-harrowing-a-depiction-of-tragedy-as-non-fiction-cinema-can-get/
- Published: 2026-09-07T06:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-07T06:31:36+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/poh-si-teng-american-doctor-movie-review/

## Key points

- Documentary "American Doctor" follows three US doctors treating patients in Gaza.
- Film captures graphic footage during the January–March 2025 ceasefire period.
- Doctors also face hostility and misinformation upon returning to America.

## Summary

"American Doctor" is a documentary by director Poh Si Teng that follows three American medical professionals delivering care in Gaza around the January–March 2025 ceasefire, capturing graphic, unflinching footage of the human toll on healthcare workers and patients. The review argues the film ranks among the best war documentaries made, praising its refusal to sanitise the violence, which it presents as ongoing evidence against attempts to deny the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe.

The film centres on Dr Mark Perlmutter, a Jewish American orthopaedic surgeon whose father witnessed the Holocaust; Dr Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian American physician who began Gaza relief work in 2009; and trauma surgeon Dr Feroze Sidhwa, who has also volunteered in Ukraine and says the violence in Gaza is far worse. The review highlights how the documentary contrasts the doctors' harrowing frontline work with the hostility they face back in America, including misinformation and threats, and notes the "American" in the title underscores their shared national identity despite differing backgrounds.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.