MS FILM CASTS LIGHT ON BUREAUCRATIC STRUGGLE

As a reason to make a documentary about multiple sclerosis, Matt Embry’s was better than most; the Calgary-born director was diagnosed with MS more than 20 years ago, and has been living with the disease since then. But what starts as his search for effective treatment quickly spirals into a feud with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. In the early going, he talks to doctors who are researching stem-cell treatments and a process called CCSVI that opens up blood flow in the veins of the neck. And in the early going the film is a slick show. But after it calms down, we’re left with a simple story; the MS Society is no friend to Embry and his alternative treatments. Living Proof screens Feb. 3- 5 in Surrey, B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, Whitby and Kanata, Ont.

½.