Key Moments
08:52 – The parents are struggling to navigate their work duties, interviews for work, and errands for their children. Lucca’s mom ( Bárbara) talks to her child in her mind “I don’t know if you ever wonder why we run all the time Lukie, why do we spend our afternoons going from one therapy to another, what am I looking for?… (Chenillo, 2024, 09:00-09:09).
10:22 – Lucca is in the hospital after having a seizure, his mom and dad (Andrés) talk quietly in the hospital and Bárbara cries alone in the hallway demonstrating the difficulty families experience when a child is ill (Chenillo, 2024, 11:06).
13:15 – Bárbara meets with a client that tells her about a treatment that could help her child. He connects her with the doctor in India (Dr. Kumar) who has a machine called the Cryotron.
20:07 – The parents discuss the options of doing the treatment and Bárbara wants to do it no matter the cost but Andrés is hesitant “It’s not just that we don’t have money, we owe money…”(Chenillo, 2024, 20:18). This highlights the decision making that families encounter when accessing treatments and the challenge to work together.
22:49 – Andrés tells Bárbara that they can “mortgage the apartment” (Chenillo, 2024, 22:51) and they make the decision to go ahead with the treatment.
24:45 – Bárbara is shown in attendance in a work meeting and is distracted by looking up information on the treatment.
29:11 – The doctor tells her that he doesn’t think they should go to India to receive treatment. He is skeptical of the validity of the treatment and feels that Lucca would not be able to make a trip to India for several reasons. Bárbara decides to do it anyway and acquires all of the supplies that the doctor said they would need.
34:29 – Lucca has a seizure at the airport. They call the doctor and he tells them if they seek medical care they will not be able to continue their journey. They have to sign a consent form to be allowed to leave on the next flight without medical care.
37:50 – The family meets Dr. Kumar’s associate who drives them through the city of India to receive the first treatment. Their caregiver is with them, although they don’t mention her directly.
44:15 – Lucca’s mom and dad are washing out the car seat after he gets sick from the treatments and she asks “are we even doing the right thing?” (Chenillo, 2024).
55:33 The parents eat dinner with Dr. Kumar and his associates and they have a theoretical conversation about the science and role god plays in their son’s healing. The associate asks them to pay the bill and tells Dr. Kumar he paid the bill.
58:04 – Bárbara speaks with her previous client that recommended the treatment and finds out he invested a lot of money into the cycotron and finds out that there are two in Mexico.
58:49 – Dr. Kumar asks Lucca to say his name as they head back home and he is heard making a sound that sounds like “…umar” (Chenillo, 2024, 58:51).
1:06:51 Bárbara’s boss witnesses her laughing with Lucca at work.
1:08:07 – Bárbara talks to Dr. Kumar’s associate with the intention of getting permission to use the machine in Mexico. He claims that he needs the approval of the FDA and tells her not to contact Dr. Kumar.
1:08:40 – Bárbara is fired from her job.
1:10:00 – Lucca has a seizure and it is shorter in duration. The scene to follow shows the neurologist discussing the possibility of her being able to bring the machine to Mexico. She passes on Kumar’s number.
1:12:30 – Kumar’s associate meets her outside her car and confronts her about passing on Dr. Kumar’s number and accuses her of being a spy. He tells her the treatment is over and cuts ties with her.
1:15:00 – Bárbara and Andrés have an emotional discussion where she confides in him about the self-blame she carried for their child being born with a disability. The next scene shows her talking with the doctor who delivered Lucca, where she learns that it was not her fault and that her labour was complicated, and she lost consciousness. He told her “…you went into respiratory arrest, you were saved by a miracle” (Chenillo, 2024, 1:17:32-1:18:19).
1:20:00 – Lucca goes to daycare with his brother Bruno and his caregiver stays with them.
1:21:18 – Bárbara calls her old client (John) to find out about the Cryotraun machines and learns that Dr. Kumar’s associate took advantage of them and she begins a search exploration to find the truth. She makes calls and creates a board where she places sticky notes with the information.
- Cryotron was registered in Dr. Kumar’s associate,
- Investors lost their money as it was not used for the purpose for which they invested it.
Bárbara sends an email with all of the information to Dr. Kumar and the investors.
1:25:41 – Bárbara attends a meeting where Dr. Kumar’s associate is in attendance. The Children’s Hospital signs a contract to run a trial using the machine for the use of cancer and arthritis. They made the decision to run the trials excluding her son Lucca. She has an unstoppable mindset and decides to take a step back and focus on gratitude.
1:28:31 – Bárbara attends the hospital’s press conference about the new trail and Dr. Kumar calls her and tells her that Bruno’s dinosaur is still at his clinic in India. He extends an invite for her and her family to come back for treatment at no cost. When she mentions the associate’s threats to stop treatment, he says they can discuss it later.
1:30:43 – Lucca makes a sound that sounds like “Momma” (Chenillo, 2024, 1:31:02) as they drive. The end captions say “Lucca and his family did three more trips to India. Currently, Lucca is finishing elementary school in the same grade as his brother Bruno. Luca has been epilepsy free for five years and he is starting to walk and talk” (Chenillo, 2024, 1:31:20).
Return to main post here: [https://ginajohnson.ca/luccas-world-analysis/].
References
Chenillo, M. (Director). 2024). Lucca’s World. (Netflix). https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81436662
Frankfurt Rights. (n.d.) The two hemispheres of Lucca by Barbara Anderson. https://frankfurtrights.com/Books/Details/the-two-hemispheres-of-lucca-19086048
Goodreads. (2019, Oct. 11) Los dos hemisferios de Lucca. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52716001-los-dos-hemisferios-de-lucca
Reddit. (n.d.) Luccas World on Netflix. https://www.reddit.com/r/CerebralPalsy/comments/1if4dkp/luccas_world_on_netflix/
