Movies that make me question my sanity #3

Vanilla Sky

This movie is the reason why I stopped watching movies that make you question your sanity. This movie really freaked me out! I watched it with my grade 12 boyfriend one night. He fell asleep and I ended up watching most of it by myself. The ending freaked me out and I tried to wake him up just to regroup (you know, like watching cartoons after a horror movie?) and he wouldnt wake up (he would complain about me waking him up and roll over). So here I am, alone with my thoughts, thinking "is this world real? am I imagining all this..." didnt sleep well thats for sure!


Even just looking at the poster gives me the heebs (as in heeby jeebies). but who knows, maybe that just tom cruise...
posted 4:32

Movies that make me question my sanity #2

#2 Fight Club: spoiler alert
Just as in Beautiful Mind the audience is submerged into a world where all is not as it seems. Unlike Beautiful Mind where the audience is an outsider looking in to the world and experiences of a mental disorder, Fight Club includes you for the ride.
Here you are the mentally ill character, and you, like the character dont even know it! Like I mentioned in my last post, i think it is true that a first episode or series of symptoms of a disorder one has never had experience with will probably go unnoticed. It will seem perfectly normal. With this movie you get such an experience (though it is a movie and you can step away from it to a certain extent as you do not have to continue living as that character afterwards).
I have already done the... "oh wow, now that I think of it, all those feelings and behaviour were due to this illness, and I didnt even know!"... so I dont need to do it again, thank you!

posted 1:31

Good mental illness themed movies #2

Seem to be on the movie kick so ill continue here:

#2 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Perhaps an obvious choice but I like it for very specific reasons. The portrayl of Chief Bromden, the tall and silent Aboriginal man, is why I like this movie. I feel it delves into some of the ways society can silence individuals. Being non-White, but more particularily, being Aboriginal in a country whose policies have desecrated these communities, has had a very strong influence on the manifestations of his illness.

I would questions if he is indeed ill at all! He is silent, perhaps because he is tired of having no voice; he doesnt correct those who think he is 'dumb' (as in limited brain functioning) perhaps because he knows they will only continue to think he is stupid because he is not White.

The movie touches on the issues of race in our society as well as mental illness.

Chief is my favorite character especially because of the way he plays basketball! and the portrayl of the friend ship between Randle and him.

Posted 11:03

Movies that make me question my sanity #1

I am not a fan of movies that make me question my own sanity! I do that enough as it is... movies like this make me think that perhaps I am much worse of than I am aware!

#1 Beautiful Mind

While brilliant beautiful and moving, this movie hits too close to home. While I have never suffered from schizophrenia, seeing someone who is completely committed to one way of thinking and, as an audience, knowing that he is seeing it the 'wrong' way is frightening as hell.

After watching this movie I decided my worst fear was to have a mental illness...ironically, it was only a short time later I was diagnosed with depression for the first time!

So yes, it may be a good movie, but I give it a thumbs down for making me question my own sanity!

[side note: look how this poster really 'others' him... hmmm possible future post idea...]

posted 10:31

Good mental illness themed movies #1

This will be a recurring post today paired with Bad mental illness themed movies.

#1. House of Fools

From Russia, this subtitled film takes place in a mental institute during the Chechen War. Caught between the opposing forces the hospital residents find themselves alone without staff.

A great movie that really gets you thinking... who are the people who are 'ill' in the world? Are those with the label, 'mentally ill' really crazier than the rest of society?

I found this movie when I was researching for a paper I wrote for my Sociology of Mental Illness class. There was a great site with a long list of movies with mental illness as a theme. I cant seem to find it, but when I do ill post the address.

ps. Another great part of this movie...a great cameo by (Canadian) Bryan Adams. Very random.. but great