AllMovie

Dr. Luc Perino is a family physician working in France who over the course of a typical day sees patients of all ages about all manner of medical conditions. Filmmaker Helene De Crécy arranged to spend a few days in Perino's consultation room as he saw patients, and the result is the documentary The Consultation. As Perino talks with his patients and tries to evaluate their symptoms and complaints, he often finds he's up against the "quick fix" mentality that's common in contemporary medicine, and his skills are put to the test as he's faced with anything from someone wondering if smoking is aggravating their sore throat to patients displaying signs of severe mental illness. Perino also strives to offer as much personal attention as possible to his patients, an increasingly difficult prospect at a time when medicine is becoming less a healing art and more an industry. The Consultation received its American premiere at the 2007 Silverdocs Film Festival, a festival for documentary cinema sponsored in part by the American Film Institute.