Incredible! The Story of Dr. Pol

My first experience with The Incredible Dr. Pol found my wife and I sitting in bed and finding ourselves a bit overwhelmed by an old veterinarian sticking half his body inside of a cow and pulling out one of its stomach cavities and then pushing it back in. Talk about surprisingly horrified. Needless to say, it wasn’t for me. 

 

A few weeks later I found myself sitting down to watch the documentary film, “Incredible! The Story of Dr. Pol”, a film that focuses more on the man and his life then just his iron stomach will when it comes to putting himself inside of animals. 

 

I have to say that I was a just a little bit disappointed in this documentary. Is there a lot about Dr, Pol that people may have not realized? Yes, but in the long and thick of things it’s a story that seems only lightly combed over from his early life in the Nazi occupied Netherlands to his relationship with his wife. Though informative the doc only hints at huge life revelations and then moves on. For example, Pol’s family taking in a Jewish boy while living under the scrutiny of the Nazi’s. Very admirable, but the moment passes quickly with Pol waving off the camera in a sudden burst of emotion. 

 

The real focus of the documentary seems to be Pol’s work life. I’m sorry, but that’s what the reality series is for. I think I’ve reached my quota for seeing calves being pulled from their mothers. On the other hand they do a pretty good job in showing Pol’s love for animals and willingness to treat any animal big or small, bird or reptile. It’s mostly a mixed back of information that could have been fleshed out a lot more had the doc ran maybe two hours long. In short, while it is a charming little documentary it lacks depth. As always, final judgment is yours. Enjoy.