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Mental Health

The Reason I Jump – Inside Autism

January 8, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Films have to ability to take us into unknown worlds—maybe through science fiction, or a setting in a different culture or time period. When I’m in a theater (ah, those were the days!) and the lights go down I feel a bit of excitement about where we will travel to today. The Reason I Jump, a documentary by Jerry Rothwell, tries to take us inside the world of autism. It’s probably an impossible goal to fully achieve, but it succeeds in giving us some understanding of what that world is like.

The film is based on book of the same title written by Naoki Higashida, when he was thirteen years old to try to explain what it was like for him to live with autism. Part of what makes this so impressive is that Naoki does not speak, yet he has written an amazingly elegant book to describe his life. Naoki does not appear in the film. He wanted his words to be enough.

The film uses his words to give us his insights—his way of experiencing the world that is so different from our own. It mixes these perceptions with glimpses into the lives of five people with autism, in India, the UK, the US, and Sierra Leone. Each of them is non-speaking. Yet we learn that they are not without thoughts and feelings. Between these glimpse Rothwell also includes shots of a young Japanese boy wandering various landscapes full of visual diversity.

The result is at times poetic (both verbally and visually) as well is eye-opening. We discover that as strange and challenging as the world of autism may seem to us, our world is just as strange and challenging to the people we meet. Early on, we hear Naoki’s words as he describes the difference in how he imagines we see things (first noticing the whole of an object and then the details), and how he experiences all the details and then must interpret that into the overall object. The film does a wonderful job of visualizing that difference.

For some people with autism who do not speak, it may be because they have so many words and thoughts in their mind that they have a hard time bringing order to them. For others it is just something that stands in the way of the words and the speaking. But all those we meet have words and ideas that they find ways of bringing forth—perhaps through art or by using an alphabet board to point letter by letter to form the words they cannot speak.

The film also touches a bit on the stigma that often accompanies autism. This is especially true when we meet the young woman in Sierra Leone. There (and elsewhere through the ages) people with autism were treated as possessed, witches, or sub-human. They have been locked away in institutions and even killed because of their differentness. The Reason I Jump helps us to understand autism as a very different understanding of reality that these people live in. And it allows us to hear what they cannot say.

The Reason I Jump is available on virtual cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: autism, based on a book, documentary, Mental Health

Two Ways Home – Mending the Past

December 29, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“No matter how rocky and dry the soil, there’s a chance for life.”

Ron Vignone’s Two Ways Home has won a slew of awards at various festivals around the country. It is a story of broken people and broken relationships. It is also a story of healing and new life.

Kathy (Tanna Frederick, who also produced) has just been released from prison and treatment for a recently diagnosed bi-polar disorder. She returns to her home in rural Iowa, hoping to live with her grandfather Walter (Tom Bower) on his small pig farm. But Walter is in a convalescent home following a heart attack. After some time with her parents (who would like to have Walter declared incompetent to get power of attorney), Kathy begins to clean up Walter’s house so he can come home where she will take care of him.

Kathy’s tweener daughter Cori (Rylie Behr) is resentful of Kathy’s absence the last several years. As Kathy tries to mend that relationship she is encouraged by her ex, Junior (Joel West). Step by step Kathy begins to make progress.

But it turns out that Walter isn’t as whole as he seems. He can be a bit mercurial, blowing up at Kathy when he returns home for redoing his house and throwing out his flea-ridden favorite chair. We also learn that he suffers from untreated PTSD from when he was in the Army. He needs to heal both physically and emotionally.

The characters are treated with compassion and acceptance. We understand why those who know her want to keep her at arm’s length. She understands it too, but is out to prove herself trustworthy.

The film touches briefly on various issues, but then fails to really explore them, such as the difference between corporate farming (Kathy’s father) and the small farm represented by Walter, andthe desire to take control of an elderly parent’s life when they need help, but don’t want it. Even Walter’s PTSD is only an obstacle that comes up late in the film and is quickly set aside. There is even a brief touch of religion and prayer, but that, too, is quickly passed over.

The real focus of the film is restoration of relationships. We don’t see all healing in the broken relationships, but we do see it in some of them. (That allows us to extrapolate that others will heal as well.) The film also serves to make us aware of the ways mental issues like bi-polar disorder may be the cause of some of the rifts in people’s lives, and that with treatment, those damaged relationship may be mended.

Two Ways Home is available on VOD.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: bi-polar disorder, Iowa, Mental Health, PTSD

The Best Christmas Movies Ever

December 17, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Do you want THE definitive list of The Best Christmas Movies Ever? Want to know why they matter deeply? Look no further…

In this final Your Sunday Drive podcast episode of 2020, we reminisce and riff on some of our favorites, unpacking plenty presents along the way: What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie and why does Die Hard count as one? What things do these stories have in common? Why do we build such strong traditions around them? Why does flying kites suck so bad? What role does magic and belief play in these movies?

Most importantly: How do these favorite seasonal stories connect to the actual Christmas story and the gospel itself?

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, best christmas movies, Charlie Brown, Christian, christian podcast, Christmas, christmas movies, church, dark, Die Hard, Elf, Faith, gospel, holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, light, Love Actually, magic, Mental Health, Santa, spiritual

She Dies Tomorrow: The Long Nights Journey into Death

August 7, 2020 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

She Dies Tomorrow. 

Maybe. But she’s fairly certain that she will.

Written and directed by Amy Seimetz, She Dies Tomorrow introduces us to Amy (Kate Lyn Shell), a young woman who is convinced that her life will come to an end the next day. While she has no idea how or when it may take place, her belief in her oncoming death is so strong that she remains frozen within its grasp and virtually immobile on her living room floor. Worried about her safety, Amy’s friend, Jane (Jane Adams) rushes to her home to check on her. However, after listening to Amy’s anxieties, she soon begins to carry the same fears about her own life and she passes those along to others.

Poetic and visceral, Seimetz’s film is a cinematic ode to pain and suffering. While the film features fascinating performances, it’s Seimetz’s use of visuals that are most notable within the film. Filling her screen with a terrifying mixture of shadows and light, she purposefully crafts every moment within Tomorrow to make the viewer uncomfortable. Through her use of long takes, bleeding colours and alternating between awkward silence and classical music, Seimetz presents the viewer with a graphic representation of the filtered mind of someone who suffers from severe depression and anxiety. This is not a film that wants you to like it. 

It’s a film that wants you to feel it.

While she has no specific reason to suspect her own death, Amy lives in a constant state of self-loathing and fear. Having lost all hope, Amy fears the rise of a new day and what trauma it could potentially bring along with it. Hers is a life that has become entirely bereft of the underpinnings of optimism at the hands of chance and self-loathing. However, what’s most terrifying about Tomorrow may not be what happens to Amy but rather the affect she has on the world around her.

Though she never intends to pass her feeling onto others, her friends are soon reshaped by her pain. Moving like a virus (which seems appropriate in during a global pandemic), this loss of hope and fear of the future infects one person after another, eating away at their psyches and personal relationships. In many ways, the expediency of the anxiety points to the fragility of the human psyche, especially as it pertains to the concept of death and the unknown. For example, though her family lives seem stable, Jane’s suspicion of her own imminent demise causes their world to shatter as well. As they question their own mortality, their blissful ignorance is lost and celebrating a birthday becomes a pointless exercise.

As such, hope is a commodity easily lost in She Dies Tomorrow. Having placed their confidence solely in innocence, each character allows the creeping doubt of mystery to dissolve their faith in a future. As such, the film leaves more questions than answers regarding any form of joy that can be had in our lives, especially if death awaits us all around any corner. While this is undoubtedly a bleak perspective, Seimetz’s script is willing to simmer within it. Whereas some films argue for finding hope in relationships, romantic love or a belief in God, Tomorrow is looking for something tangible that it never truly finds. 

In Tomorrow, hope simply has no foundation upon which to take root.

Famed critic Roger Ebert once said before he died that ‘every movie needs to offer some sense of hope’. While it need not resolve all its issues or answer all its questions, he meant to suggest that hopefulness at some level was essential for the best scripts to land with the audience. At best, Seimetz offers the viewer the possibility of moving forward by allowing Amy to understand that ‘it’s okay not to be okay’. Having struggled with depression myself, I can attest to the fact that this is realization can be freeing to the human soul on many levels. Nevertheless, that small breath of air that the film offers remains very little and leaves the viewer with little to stand on.

Although credit must be given to Seimetz for bravely delving into the pain of depression, She Dies Tomorrow is an undoubtedly difficult film to watch. Beautiful and challenging, this is a film that requires a great deal of patience and courage to engage at the soul level. While pain is never an easy thing to watch, it is even more difficult to see it spread through others like a cancer, decimating all in its path. As such, whether or not She Dies Tomorrow is not the question that the film wants to ask. Instead, Tomorrow is most interested in looking for a reason to continue living.

She Dies Tomorrow premieres on VOD on August 7th, 2020.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Amy Seimetz, Chris Messina, depression, Jane Adams, Kate Lyn Shell, Mental Health, Michelle Rodriguez, She Dies Tomorrow, suicide

The Holidays & Mental Health; Star Wars

December 18, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

It’s nearly Christmas – a joyous time, but also a difficult time for many.

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we welcome local family medicine physician’s assistant Dave Mulder to talk about the holidays and mental health, trying to lend a Christian perspective to an issue that many face this time of year.

With The Rise of Skywalker just days from release, we also take a quick few minutes to discuss the spiritual significance of Star Wars.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: blue christmas, christian movie review, christian podcast, christian review, church, depression, holidays, Jesus, medication, Mental Health, skywalker, spiritual, Star Wars, suicide

Jarrid Wilson & Hope in the Face of Suicide

September 13, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Jarrid Wilson

Aren’t Christians supposed to have it “all figured out?” Does the gospel really work? Can people change? Is victory over our struggles possible? How?

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about Jarrid Wilson, a pastor and mental health advocate who recently committed suicide, and some related questions for Christians and non-Christians alike.

If you need help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. 

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: addiction, anthem, Christian, church, depression, hill, hope, jarrid wilson, Mental Health, Podcast, polzin, suicide

5.02 Messy Celebrities in A STAR IS BORN

October 7, 2018 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/5.02-A-Star-is-Born.mp3

With A STAR IS BORN, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have (re)created a timeless love story for modern times. Exploring the relationship between love and mental health (with an amazing soundtrack as well), the film is clearly gearing up for a run at next year’s Oscars. This week, Steve welcomes back Shelley McVea and Andrew Eaton to talk about love, celebrity and music with soul.

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

5.02 A Star is Born

Thanks Shelley and Andrew for joining us!

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Podcast, TIFF Tagged With: A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper, Dave Chappelle, Lady Gaga, Love, love story, Mental Health, mental health issues, music, Oscars, Sam Elliott

McQueen – It’s Okay, It’s Only Clothes

August 20, 2018 by Julie Levac Leave a Comment

Image result for mcqueen documentary

Arguably one of the most eccentrically talented fashion designers of our time, Lee Alexander McQueen took the fashion world by storm. His candle shone bright in the small amount of time he was on this earth. He was often misunderstood, in life and in fashion. He looked nothing like what a stereotypical fashion designer looked like, and I think this is where a lot of his initial career judgments came from. Later in life, Lee’s insecurities would lead him to alter some of his physical appearance.

As a young apprentice, he was exposed to a street-wear company that took inspiration from the anniversary of man landing on the moon. This was the first time Lee was exposed to the idea of using unique topics to pull inspiration from.

Image result for alexander mcqueen the highlan raoe

Lee was best known for his dark and often shocking lines that depicted things like rape and death. These were not easy garments to look at, often looking like something from a crime scene. The models would literally look like they had just been raped. Lee received a lot of backlash for his work. But he was filtering his life experiences into his art form. Lee always admitted that he didn’t care what people thought of him and he wasn’t afraid to pull from his darkness. Although disturbing, it goes to show that parlaying negative experiences into a creative outlet can often be healthy.

Lee wanted the audience to leave his shows feeling an emotion, whether it be repulsion or not. He felt like if he didn’t leave feeling an emotion than he hadn’t done his job.

Sometimes his pieces would be inspired by more positive aspects of his life, like his love of nature, the sea in particular.

Image result for mcqueen and blow

He met a magazine editor named Isabella Blow who was prominent in the fashion world. It was Isabella who essentially discovered Lee’s talent. He was her protege. She didn’t have any children so she poured that energy into Lee. Vanity Fair would later refer to them as fashion’s muse and master.

At 27, and not in a good place financially, Lee accepted a position as creative director for Givenchy in France. His first line with Givenchy with risque and not well received. But Lee stayed true to who he was, pouring England into Paris in his own unique way.

Lee knew he was gay from an early age. He struggled with a father who would make jokes about it. His father would have preferred for him to be a mechanic instead of getting into fashion.

During one of his fashion shows, some students kicked down barricades and started a fire. The cars that were part of the set were unfortunately not emptied of gasoline so they set fire. Lee refused to let the fires be put out. He kept sending models out to the catwalk and refused to let the show stop. He used the prank to his advantage. This was very telling of his work ethic and drive. He didn’t want anything to ruin the illusion of his shows.

With his intense schedule, it’s shocking that Lee didn’t burn himself out. He was living six months in England, and the other six in France, going back and forth between Givenchy and McQueen. With more money came more unhappiness, as well as drugs. He became angry and aggressive.

During this time, with immense career pressures and the death of a close friend, Lee was experiencing his darkest moments.  On top of it all, Lee’s mother, whom he idolized, succumb to her illness. On the eve of his mother’s funeral, Lee took his own life.

Image result for lee alexander mcqueen

Cinematically, I appreciated the cuts with animated skulls and dark images, including haunting classical music, cellos specifically. It really set the tone for the entire piece. It was fascinating to see clips of Lee working, speaking in interviews, and from his fashions shows. It gave it sort of a home movie feel.

Before his death, Lee created a charity called Sarabande, which provides scholarships to students and artists. “Sarabande Foundation was established because Lee passionately believed that creative minds with the potential to push boundaries should be given the same opportunities he’d enjoyed.”

This film is so telling of one person’s struggle with mental health. It’s good to confront your past and your demons, yet bringing it all to light again can often add salt to the wound. Sometimes we experience horrible situations, such as loss, that completely take over. It is important to sometimes take a step back from busy schedules and everything that overwhelms us and check in with ourselves to make sure we’re doing alright. And if the answer is ‘no’, even if it’s ‘I’m not sure’, I encourage you to speak to someone. Whether it’s someone you know and are close to, or a professional. It’s okay to talk about it. It doesn’t make you weak or less of a person. In fact, you are so strong for talking about it! Sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world to talk about your problems. But you can! And you’re awesome for doing it.

If you are struggling with mental health or suicidal ideations, please know that you are loved. There are numerous resources that can assist you. If you are in Canada, we would recommend you visit https://suicideprevention.ca/need-help/ which will provide you with contact information for various assistance per Province. If you are in the United States, visit https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/immediate-help.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Alexander McQueen, Fashion, Fashion Show, Givenchy, Isabella Blow, Lee Alexander McQueen, McQueen, Mental Health, Sarabande, suicide

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