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238 Movies and Mental Illness “huffing,” autoerotic asphyxiation, isolation from her family, and prostitution. My Flesh and Blood (2004) Documentary ΨΨΨ Moving story of Susan Tom, who adopted 11 special needs children and raised them on her own. One has cystic fibrosis and severe anger and oppositional behaviors directed at most people around him. Nell (1994) Drama ΨΨΨ Jodi Foster plays a feral child raised in isolation in the North Carolina woods. She is terrified of the doctor who discovers her and eventually learns her own odd language. The doctor consults an expert on child psychology. Interesting examination of Rousseau’s concept of the “natural savage.” Noi the Albino (2003) Drama ΨΨΨ A film about a troubled but gifted teen who struggles with conduct problems in Iceland. The movie provides a realistic evaluation of a gifted adolescent who is out of place in both school and life. Pelle the Conqueror (1986) Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ Moving film about lust, passion, dreams, aging, hope, pragmatic romance, and, most of all, the love between a father and his son. The film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. Pieces of April (2003) Comedy ΨΨΨ Previously troubled adolescent estranged from her family tries to create a pleasant, memorable experience for her dysfunctional family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Well-acted by Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson. Pixote (1981) Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ A powerful film about the squalid, depressing lives of street children in Sao Paulo. In the film, the child, Pixote, commits his first murder at the age of 10. Ironically, the child star actually was shot and killed by the police five years after the film was released. Ratcatcher, The (1999) Drama ΨΨΨ Young adolescent living in Glasgow has to cope with trash-covered streets, lice, and dead rats. He acts out as he tries to cope with poverty. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Drama ΨΨΨ Dated but still interesting examination of teenage alienation, violence, and family pathology. James Dean is the rebellious protagonist. All three stars (Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo) met violent deaths (a car wreck, a drowning, and a murder). “Boy, if, if I had one day when I didn’t have to be all confused, and didn’t have to feel that I was ashamed of everything” James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause Salaam Bombay! (1988) Drama ΨΨΨ Remarkable story about the way indigent children manage to survive to adulthood on the mean streets of Bombay. Cole Sear: “We were supposed to draw a picture, anything we wanted. I drew a man who got hurt in the neck by another man with a screwdriver.” Malcolm Crowe: “You saw that on TV, Cole?” Cole Sear: “Everyone got upset. They had a meeting. Mom started crying. I don’t draw like that any more.” Malcolm Crowe: “How do you draw now?” Cole Sear: “Draw... people smiling, dogs running, rainbows. They don’t have meetings about rainbows.” A child figures out how to game the system in The Sixth Sense Sixth Sense, The (1999) Drama ΨΨΨ Bruce Willis plays a Philadelphia child psychologist treating a child who sees himself surrounded by dead people. If this child were seen at a clinic, he would probably be diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia. The film has a surprise ending and offers some insight into a troubled marriage, but it offers little to help us understand child psychopathology. From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
Appendix G: Films Illustrating Psychopathology 239 Splendor in the Grass (1961) Drama ΨΨ A teenage girl unable to come to grips with adolescent sexuality winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Thirteen (2003) Drama ΨΨΨΨ Important film about the rise and fall of teen friendships, sexual promiscuity, self-hate, rebellion, and the intense need adolescents fill to fit in and be accepted. Holly Hunter plays the recovered alcoholic mother struggling with the delicate balance between giving her daughter appropriate levels of freedom and setting limits. Tin Drum, The (1979) Drama/War ΨΨΨΨ Political allegory about a child who decides to stop growing. Based on a Gunter Grass novel, the film won an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. The film recently received considerable attention because a scene in which the child has oral sex with an adult was judged to be obscene under Oklahoma law. “She did something that in our society is unspeakable. She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong, young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.” Atticus Finch speaking to the jury in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Drama ΨΨ Robert Duvall makes his film debut as Boo Radley, a man with mental retardation who kills another man in order to protect two children. Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A (1945) Drama ΨΨΨ Elia Kazan film about a poor Irish family living in Brooklyn at the turn of the century. The family’s problems are complicated by the father’s alcoholism. United States of Leland, The (2004) Drama ΨΨΨ Interesting story about Leland P. Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling), an adolescent who kills an autistic boy but can’t explain why. His emotions are blunted, his social behavior is quirky, yet his thoughts are often insightful and perceptive. Kevin Spacey co-stars. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996) Comedy ΨΨΨ Interesting examination of families, emerging sexuality, and the cruelty of adolescents. Wild Child, The (1969) Drama ΨΨΨΨ François Truffaut’s engaging film about the life of a feral child, the “Wild Boy of Aveyron.” Based on a true story and the journal of Jean Itard, the doctor who set out to educate the child. Truffaut himself plays the role of Itard. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) Family ΨΨ Five lucky children win a free tour of a wonderful chocolate factory. Four of the five children (excluding the hero, Charlie) are either oppositional, obsessed, or enormously selfish. Wish You Were Here (1987) Drama ΨΨ A teenage girl coming of age in Great Britain in the early 1950s must come to grips with her emerging sexuality. Mental Retardation and Autism Antonia’s Line (1995) Comedy ΨΨΨΨ A film with unforgettable characters, including Loony Lips and Dede, two mentally challenged people who fall in love and get married. The film is a joyful celebration of life and family. Being There (1979) Comedy ΨΨ Peter Sellers plays the role of a gardener with mild mental retardation who finds himself caught up in a comedy of errors in which his simple platitudes are mistaken for wisdom. This film is a precursor to Forrest Gump. Best Boy (1979) Documentary ΨΨΨΨ Ira Wohl’s moving tribute to his cousin (who has mental retardation) examines the options facing the young man when his father dies and his aging mother is no longer able to care for him. This film won an Academy Award as Best Documentary film. Best Man: “Best Boy” and All of Us Twenty Years Later (1997) Documentary ΨΨΨ A sequel to the 1979 film documenting that director Ira Wohl’s cousin has a rich, full and meaningful life, despite his cognitive limitations. Bill (1981) Biography ΨΨ Mickey Rooney won an Emmy for playing a man From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
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