There have been many changes in the past couple of years with people and places not being the same as they were in such a short space of time. Looking at places and people as they were may be surprising as the affects of the pandemic have gone from loss to illness. Even those not touched directly by its worst moments have felt a kind of loss and change that they cannot describe or even begin to explain.

The news has been filled with people either going along with their vaccinations, protesting even the slightest bit of change that disrupted their lives and how people have had to change their lives in order to cope.

There’s also been a lot about how health service workers are overwhelmed and overworked as they struggle to cope with the number of new patients. Some which very quickly led to death whilst others have to deal with more long-term repercussions. It seems like life may never be the same again, but to imagine how life used to be may be difficult.

Phases of Matter is a documentary by Deniz Tortum which may have started in one way and has ended up meaning something totally different and more profound as time has passed. Entirely filmed in the hospital where Tortum was born in Istanbul, Phases of Matter shows the everyday lives of the hospital workers and the things they encounter.

However, this is a fly on the wall documentary and not one that has a narrative either, its aim is to show the people who work there as they are as a sign of gratitude from Tortum. Although in recent times it has become something more as it shows great appreciation for what hospital workers had compared to what has happened since, when their lives were changed.

This is no ER or Grey’s Anatomy so the audience should not expect any high drama, scripted or otherwise. Instead, this is just a picture of life in a hospital in Istanbul and the reflection of what it was over the pandemic is shocking because of the moments of stillness and quiet that have been lost since.

Keeping in mind the motives behind Tortum’s documentary would help whilst watching as if he ever went back to do another then it may be starkly different.

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