Tag: Mental Health

Animated, Female Characters, Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness Month: How “Frozen” Thaws Fearful Hearts

When reflecting upon the cinema that we consumed as children, we often remember most fondly the tales that excited us, humoured us, or maybe even frightened us. For many, regardless of generation, Disney has been a big contributor to such memories. But the best children’s tales contain valuable messages, or even truths, in their stories. Although I was a teenager in his last year of high school when Disney’s “Frozen” (2013) was released, it is a film that I believe will allow children and adults alike to recognise and understand lessons in mental health for generations to come. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month: How “Frozen” Thaws Fearful Hearts

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Film Reviews, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews

12 Monkeys (1995): Trauma and The Prescience of Gilliam’s Vision

Terry Gilliam created a nightmarish vision of the future in 1985 with possibly his best-known film “Brazil.” That proved to be just a warm-up for the mind-bending, chilling dystopia of “12 Monkeys’ (1995) which has only become even more prophetic in the current worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. The husband and wife team of David and Janet Peoples wrote a screenplay that is surprisingly poignant in its subtext of compassion and kindness being vital to treating mental illness.

As much as protagonist James Cole struggles with the anguish of his post-traumatic stress, we now face our own troubling and harrowing present. It is a harsh reminder that while our reality is not as fatally bleak as Cole’s, it is a strain on the mental health of us all. Continue reading 12 Monkeys (1995): Trauma and The Prescience of Gilliam’s Vision

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Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Uncategorized

Mental Health Awareness Month: Benny and Joon

“Benny and Joon” (1993) is an odd little concoction of a film. On one hand, it has its cuteness and quirk, and on the other- is a very serious example of one’s struggle with mental illness. Neither can be overlooked, nor appreciated without the other, throughout the course of the film. The melding of these makes it a charismatic picture.

Joon Pearl (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Benny Pearl (Aidan Quinn) are brother and sister. She’s an artist, he’s a mechanic, and he looks after her as her mental illness keeps her from living on her own. They have their own rhythm, and there is safety and harmony in their shared life, but it’s obvious both want more. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month: Benny and Joon

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Film Reviews, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews, World Cinema

Mental Health Awareness Month, Retrospective Review: Cries and Whispers

The tagline for Ingmar Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers” sums up the plot nicely: Four women dressed in white in a mansion painted red…haunted by whispers and cries. The film’s runtime is just over an hour and a half, taking place in one location with four key players. By the end of the film, we see each woman for who they truly are: a product of their patriarchal society. Repressed, depressed, manic and dying. One can finally cry out and express their pain and torment. Another remains devoted and empathetic. The other two can only whisper as they struggle to contain their emotions and become consumed by them. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month, Retrospective Review: Cries and Whispers

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Female Filmmaker, Film Reviews, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews, World Cinema

Mental Health Awareness Month, Retrospective Review: Ocean Heaven

In the case of this review; the film in question is the 2010 drama “Ocean Heaven”. The film is best known for being the first non-martial arts role for lead actor Jet Li. Primarily known for his action hero persona, Li is also known for his humanitarian views; in charge of various charities via The One Foundation he established. Considering the content of the story which involves mental health awareness, the role sounds like it would be the perfect segue for him. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month, Retrospective Review: Ocean Heaven

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Female Filmmakers, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews, Women in Film

Mental Health Awareness Month Review: “Somewhere”

Let me tell you why I love Sofia Coppola so much: she’s interesting. She is unbothered by box office returns; she is loyal to her vision. Here is a woman who has had a keen understanding of Hollywood since her earliest memories–she plays the baby in “The Godfather”, for crying out loud! She is a keen observer of life, of human nature, and–as a consequence, I suppose, of growing up around the glitz and glam of Hollywood–the repercussions of copious amounts of glitz and glam. 

In keeping with this month’s theme of Mental Health, I thought it’d be appropriate to write about a woman’s depiction of a man’s mental state in La La Land. “Somewhere”, which won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, offers very little in terms of plot and intrigue. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month Review: “Somewhere”

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Female Characters, Film Reviews, Mental Health, Personal Essays, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews

“I, Tonya” and the Preponderance of Trauma

When you watch the trailer for “I, Tonya” (2017), you get the tonal sense of the film.  It is a dark comedy about infamous skating figure Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie).  I can yammer on all day about I am still not over Robbie losing the Oscar; her performance is magnetic.  She was captivating from start to finish.  It was a career-defining performance, one that demonstrated her innate talent…but I am seriously digressing.  Robbie is incredible in the film, which is why I think the abuse and trauma we see in the film makes it all the more difficult to watch.

I have my Master’s degree in Professional Counseling.  One of the courses I took was on trauma-informed therapy.  Trauma is everyone.  Trauma is, in essence, completely defined by a person. Continue reading “I, Tonya” and the Preponderance of Trauma

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Indie Film, Interviews, Mental Health

Exclusive Interview with Jared Douglas, Christian Gnecco Quintero, and Stefanie Rons Regarding “The Sound of the Wind”

By Bianca Garner With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, it seems like the apporitate time for people to seek out Jared Douglas‘ film, “The Sound of the Wind”. This is a well-crafted, and emotional charged film, which tells the story of  Lucio, a young man whose paranoia has him torn between the pain of abandoning his daughter and the safety of his own life. … Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Jared Douglas, Christian Gnecco Quintero, and Stefanie Rons Regarding “The Sound of the Wind”

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Female Characters, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews

A Beautiful Mind: Hollywood’s Depiction of Love and Mental Illness

Hollywood loves an underdog. The story of the comeback over adversity, even better if that second chance is inspired by love, is known in certain neighborhoods of New York as “schmaltz,”- meaning, sentimentality. Mental illness is commonly reduced to the simplistic terms of sentimentality in the movies, but there are stories which manage to rise above. Extraordinary people can inspire but sometimes their loved ones who do not get the star treatment deserve it as much, if not more.

 John Nash was so visionary in his mathematical ability his doctorate dissertation at Princeton was awarded a Nobel Prize forty-five years later. It took the rest of the world that long to catch up with what Nash was saying about “game theory” and how it could impact economics, among other applications. Continue reading A Beautiful Mind: Hollywood’s Depiction of Love and Mental Illness

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Female Characters, Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews

Friday the 13th: 40th Anniversary Piece

Being one of the first slasher films to break into the mainstream media, the “Friday the 13th” franchise has not only become one of the most iconic film franchises, but provided one of the most iconic slashers in all of pop-culture – Jason Vorhees. Yes, that hockey mask wearing, machete wielding slasher has been providing plenty of blood and entertainment for decade and has always been my personal favorite of the genre – with Freddy always being a close second. From rooting for him as an odd underdog in Freddy vs. Jason to even playing as the iconic slasher in IllFonic’s incredible gaming adaptation of the franchise, Jason has and will always have a special place in my heart. However, with the 1980 original’s 40th anniversary coming this May, it’s actually not fitting at all to talk about him. Continue reading Friday the 13th: 40th Anniversary Piece

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