In the Marseille hospital, a bubble of kindness, humanity and poetry.

FRANCE 2 – TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15 AT 10:55 PM – DOCUMENTARY

It is a special world, a “strange bubble”as director Eglantine Eméyé says, where children’s songs and The Sopranos are sung in chorus to ward off the anxiety of illness, where children, parents and caregivers exchange waves of love despite the gravity of the moment, where life faces death daily. Located on the sixth floor of the Timone University Hospital, the flagship of the university hospitals of Marseille, the neuropediatrics department of Professors Chabrol and Milh welcomes children suffering from rare, complex and, this documentary does not hide, sometimes fatal pathologies.

Eglantine Eméyé initially thought of her film as a farewell letter to her son Samy, followed within these walls for ten years and who lived his last days there at the age of 17, in February 2023. But this personal search is also a vibrant tribute to the staff: these “Angels of Timone” of the title − who, daily, faces the suffering of patients, the youngest are babies and the oldest, adolescents.

Faced with this destiny that Professor Milh describes as“injustice”caregivers, nursing assistants or administrative staff display smiles, kindness, humanity and faith in their mission. A very feminine, young and exciting population, who sees in their work “the most beautiful job in the world” and even one “form of poetry”while questioning his own resilience. “People ask me: “How do you manage to work with sick children?” »a nurse from the department asks. “Without joy we could not endure”one of her companions seems to respond.

Heartbreaking moments

With tender and simple words, sometimes naive, Eglantine Eméyé, director and mother, stages her return to the sixth floor of the Timone. A painful catharsis that, in small sequences, serves as a common thread to the film. But if this documentary is sometimes disturbing, it is, above all, because of the reality it shows. Immersed in the rooms, the bathrooms, the service corridors, Olivier Pighetti’s camera does not seek aesthetics or sensationalism. Without fanfare, it captures care, exchanges and, above all, emotions of uncommon power. But also some difficult moments to endure.

How can we not feel deeply moved by Lina, Timothée or Riheb, children who fight against pathologies that devour them? Resist the anguished looks of parents, crushed by the announcement of the medical profession (although discreet and at the same time overwhelmed) that devours their last hopes? Or, on the contrary, because of Anna’s mischievous smile, “little miracle” Who, riding a tricycle adapted to her disability, navigates towards the outside world after successful treatment?

Throughout his narrative, Samy and the Angels of Timone It also touches on the evils that undermine the public hospital. It shows the lack of beds when, consumed by anxiety, a mother is forced to continue her daughter’s hospitalization at home. The workload of caregivers, sometimes overwhelmed by the number of patients to follow. Or the psychological impact of these missions, especially among younger professionals. Ultimately, it demonstrates that it is necessary to continue providing these hospitable “angels” with resources commensurate with their formidable commitment.