Beautiful and scary footage of what is was like in Wuhan for some of the doctors and nurses on the front line of Covid-19. Following patients and staff, you see the sheer luck of recovering from covid vs. Dying, and how quickly that was shown. We knew so little back then and the fear we all felt early on was very palpable in this. Despite the subtitles, you get a sense for the great compassion from the doctors and nurses in how much they care for their patients. Beautiful film. I was captivated for the entire thing.

Yeah, this "documentary" was a swing and a miss. Talk about painting a picture more pretty than it it is supposed to be. I mean, a Chinese produced "documentary" about the Covid-19 situation within the first 76 days following the start of the outbreak. Nah, that doesn't even fly.

I made it a little more than half way through, with about 40 minutes left to watch, and I gave up. I just got up and walked out on the movie. This was a rather pointless and incredibly slow-paced movie. "Documentary"? I think not.

This was, at best, a polished and shined up presentation of how the situation was in Wuhan. I simply do not believe that a hospital would be that calm, tranquil and in control of a situation that had escalated so much out of control and was affecting the entire world. I am pretty sure that writer and director Hao Wu has been told what to show and how to show it by the Chinese government here. It was just way too rosy red and all floating on Cloud 9.

There was absolutely no entertainment value for me in "76 Days", which was a shame, because I had initially thought that this documentary drama could possibly be an interesting watch. I mean, with the premise of following in the wake of the outbreak, everything was lined up for something entertaining, if not something great.

But the ball was tossed and directors Weixi Chen and Hao Wu swung, and missed by a lot, a whole lot.

I am rating "76 Days" a generous two out of ten stars, solely for the production value and the idea behind the storyline. But this kind of propaganda does not prove to be worthy of being proper entertainment.

As a historical document of something that really didn't happen long ago- even if it feels like history- it's great. As a narrative, it doesn't quite manage to be as compelling.

They do really stick to their approach of just showing - in a straightforward and objective manner - the struggles and tribulations of Wuhan's doctors, nurses, and early patients in the first couple of months of the pandemic.

It really nails the opening and closing scenes, there are a couple of people covered here and there that make an impression, and there are some great, haunting shots of the city in lockdown that never cease to look eerie, even though I've literally been out in the streets and on roads that look just as empty in my home city!

The approach does work for creating a feeling of neutrality and realism, but it's not as engaging as a story, with a sense of (possibly intentional) repetition making it hard to focus during certain parts.

But even then, if I only take away the beginning, ending, a few patient stories, and some of the visuals, that's more than enough. It's an admirable effort to show the early days of COVID-19, and while it's not super "entertaining" or emotionally engaging (save for a couple of heartbreaking sequences that I won't spoil- but you will know them if you watch this documentary),it is interesting.

And it also works as a testament and love letter, if you will, to medical professionals in Wuhan and the world over, highlighting the insane sacrifices they've made to save lives and reduce further outbreaks.

Also, if anyone reading this knows a COVID-denier (if any still exist,) please show them the first five minutes of this movie and see if they have the guts to say it looks exaggerated or not that big a deal- it's powerful, potentially attitude-changing stuff.