With A Little Help, Anyone Can"Carry On: Finding Hope in the Canyon"

By Lulubell

Directed by: Jeremy Simmons, Carrie Whitten-Simmons

Most documentaries serve a single purpose — to inform. In the case of Carry On: Finding Hope in the Canyon it pulls double duty, not only in trying to inform the general public about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), but also as a motivating film for those suffering from the disease (or any other physical disability at that). This documentary follows Anthony Castle, a fourteen year old suffering from DMD, and his family as they try to accomplish a never before done feat. Anthony wants to hike down to the base of the Grand Canyon and reach the Colorado River. On a wheelchair no less. 

Anthony was diagnosed with DMD at a very young age and given little hope of having any sort of motor function past his teens. His family didn't give up and tried all they could to make him a survivor. While he has been loosing muscle mass and dexterity, they were able to push back the effects of DMD for much longer than predicted. 

Anthony's diagnosis was a blow to the family, but they soldiered on. Even while Anthony's parents were getting divorced, they stayed a united front all for the sake of Anthony and his brother. A disease like DMD takes a toll not only on the patient but on everyone around him or her. It's a merciless disease, but as this documentary shows, when you have an attitude like Anthony and his family, anything is possible. They are living, breathing proof. 

The process and preparation to hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is not an easy one. In Anthony's case so much more. What's astonishing is the power of the human heart and what it could achieve. In no time at all, Anthony's family was able to get dozens of volunteers to help with their endeavor. A group of firefighters from Phoenix, AZ all volunteered to be the ones who would carry Anthony down the trail. 

An Arizona group gave the family the wheelchair for Anthony. They are nonprofit and are dedicated to giving people with physical disabilities the opportunity to have adventures they didn't think possible. 

While I liked the overall message of the documentary the execution of it didn't impress me. The entire doc is a story about Anthony and what he is going through, yet his story is told entirely by others. He scarcely says a dozen words throughout the whole thing. For a long time, I thought that perhaps Anthony had died or he was in a state where he could no longer speak and therefore they were doing this documentary after the fact. On the contrary (and much to my relief) he was alive and well. So then why not have him speak for his own documentary? 

Alas, the answer still eludes me. It's unfortunately really, that despite such a great story, we couldn't get to know what Anthony was really feeling or how he felt after the hike. 

Rating: 
This is like being told I am getting a chocolate chip cookie and then realizing that there is only ONE chocolate chip in the whole cookie. Tempt me and then rob me?! Shame on you. Shame!