Still Alice - Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (2014)

          Well, this is a tear-jerker. While I was often swept away in emotion, I realized afterward that the moments that made me cry were moments of goodness, kindness, compassion, and powerful will. It wasn't the sadness of the story which brings tears, but the sweetness mixed with its inescapable realness. It's a difficult process to watch. I found myself wanting to turn away many times from her confusion, embarrassed for her. I often wanted her to stay hidden away so no one else could see her confusion and make a mockery of her. Throughout the story, before she is too diseased to say anything coherent, she expresses that the symptoms which cause humiliations do not represent her, but the disease. A powerful perspective on all mental health issues, but especially profound with Alzheimer's. I left the movie thankful for the knowledge, experience, and compassion it imparted to me. In addition to its insightful perspective on the disease, it also shows us what true family is - a group of people who lay aside their differences, disagreements, and fears for the sake of love.

Watch it.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - Julian Schnabel (2007)

          This was not an easy movie to watch. In the beginning, you feel as trapped and paralyzed and irritated as Jean-Do does. Throughout the film, though it seems like a heart-breaking story, what you feel lines up with the character's feelings, so that when he chooses to escape his body through imagination, you believe that his imagination really is a place of happiness for him. We become content with the life he's given and the view of him we're given through the film's visual and aural design. There's also a certain amount of lightness which is tied to the character and translated really well from his personality to the script and visual elements, so that despite the sadness of the story, we feel hopeful and okay, even if he doesn't heal.
          Overall, this film inspires me to go after the things I want to do and makes me thankful for the body and mind I have, one that despite its imperfections, is perfectly capable of taking advantage of the opportunities that come my way. What feels disconnected in the story is how Jean-Do is not a good man - he's a poor father, a player, and seems consumed in himself and his image. It's strange because his accident doesn't change him at all. He writes a book. That's it - he doesn't become a better father, partner or person. Because of that, this is a very small story, one that is interesting when you sit down and absorb it, but that leaves you feeling empty. It's honest - it didn't change the man he was in real life for the movie. Still, you wonder why you just spent nearly 2 hours with him, when from beginning to end, he's a tool. While you watch it for the experience, I think it's important to acknowledge the fallacy of praising an egotistical, uncaring person just because he had an accident and wrote a book by blinking.

Watch it... only because it's an interesting experience.