How to Care

The scouts

Everyone expects a disability doc to genuflect, and Vance mostly does—but there's an undercurrent of friction here, a refusal to make Dan or his caregivers into saints, that keeps it from collapsing into the usual inspiration narrative.

This sits squarely in the observational documentary tradition, but with meticulous attention to the rhythms of intimate care work; the editing respects silence and repetition in a way that deepens rather than sentimentalizes the subject matter.

The whole thing hinges on Vance's decision to center the care workers' voices and presence equally with Dan's—a structural choice that reframes the entire ethical weight of the film and makes 22 minutes feel expansive.