Monthly Archives

July 2017

Jul 21
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Movie: Dunkirk

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I walked in the cinema expecting a war movie and, by all means, it was; but it was so much more – I came out of the movie theater with both a history lesson learned and complete audio-visual experience. What Christopher Nolan does with Dunkirk is no short of genius – from the acting to the effects and the storyline it is hard to find any faults with the movie.

Background

The story of Dunkirk is actually a rescue mission called Operation Dynamo. Following the surrender of Belgium in front of the Nazi troops the battleground in France came under siege by the German military. Being blocked from all sides the allies retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk in order to be evacuated. Almost 400.000 soldiers were on the beaches, but excessive fire from the Luftwaffe sinking most British destroyers sent to get the troops caused the British government to use the civilian fleet of fishing and pleasure boats to be sent for the soldiers on the beach – given the fact that they were much smaller it was harder for the Nazi air forces to sink them. The operation was a success, the small boats rescuing more than 330.000 soldiers that were brought back to the UK so they could protect the homeland and be deported to other battlegrounds and would eventually win the war.

Layers

The movie is comprised of multiple time layers that come together at the end – the ability to see the same scene from different perspectives offers an unique viewing experience and gives quite a bit of food for thought. While watching the movie you are also solving a puzzle in your head trying to put all the pieces together. This technique gives the impression of a very well thought out script and storyline and in terms of movie watching experience it is quite rewarding. Although a small group of people might find it a bit confusing it does not distract heavily from the whole experience of the movie and if you pay enough attention the story will make perfect sense throughout the entire film.

Motives, faces and dialogue

Christopher Nolan has mentioned in multiple interviews that the story on Dunkirk is something that was always a part of British history – growing up the story of fisherman and civilians taking their boats and going to a war zone to rescue their fellow countrymen was unavoidable. However, he thought that the story has never been properly told to the world and that had given him the idea on writing the script and directing the movie.

One fact that surprises is, although he uses some familiar faces from his earlier movies, most of the cast is young and not very well known in the movie world. The reason is that the story Nolan wanted to tell is about young people, as wars are usually fought by young men send to war by their seniors, that are of the proper age – no point in hiring 30 something actors that play the role of 18 year-olds, it doesn’t feel authentic. The decision was successful as it offers a bit of ambiguity – movie watchers expect that movie stars not to be killed off early on, but not the same can be expected when there is a cast that is unknown. It also offers a perspective of compassion beyond the usual one in war movies – we wanted them to live and we root for them with much more passion than usual. There is also no central character, and while the stories are grouped around a set of characters there is no lead and each story is equally important.

The movie uses less dialogue as it relies mostly on visual storytelling. The intense ground, water and air scenes don’t need so much dialogue as they offer plenty of context themselves. The dialogues is short and on point, much how a war movie should be – there is no time to philosophize about life and death when the line between them is so thin and the enemy is right around the corner.

The movie has a PG 13 rating as it lacks all the blood and gore that we have become so used to in depictions of war and battles – this is due to the fact that Dunkirk, apart from offering an unique visual art experience, also wants to be a history lesson and the opportunity that teenagers can see a small page of history right before their eyes is truly worth it – the movie is so mesmerizing that you do not even notice it anyway. Read More

Jul 20
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Book: In Therapy: How Conversations with Psychotherapists Really Work

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Admitting to having an emotional problem is almost always seen as a sign of weakness, we are told from an early age that we need to be strong and make the most of what we got – losing it means that we are outcasts, people which are used as a negative example in society. It is this trend that makes psychotherapy a science that is avoided, as it is considered a failure if you need it, and not what it actually is: a consultation with a professional about a part of your body that is not behaving as it should. You wouldn’t consider not seeing an orthopedist when your leg hurts, on the contrary, you would assume and consider to be exactly the thing that is needed.

One of the things that is still a mistery is what is gong in inside – what will this stranger get out from me? what if I am too embarrassed and say things that I do not anyone else to know? The ins and outs of a psychotherapy session is still a reason for concern, mostly for the same reason I mentioned before: people feel ashamed for the fact that they even consider they need to speak with somebody. Multiple shows and books have surfaced in recent years trying to inform people of what to expect and what this science actually does – this book is one of those examples.

The most basic thing is that the patient is always in control – they decide what they speak about and how many details they give. The idea is not only to speak of the things that hurt you emotionally, but to get to the center of what exactly is that is hurting you. Identifying the cause is one of the primary goals of these sessions. The therapist will listen and ask further questions about the subject you want to approach, many times the subject will creep in the conversation no matter how much we try to avoid it – but this is a good thing, because once it is out there you will feel an immense sense of accomplishment, it is now that the healing begins. The questions directed at the patient are also to find the cause of the illness even if the patient is not aware of it – this is what therapists do, and in doing it they not only help you get over what is hurting you, but they will also help you understand what the power of expressing yourself really is – a simple thing like talking can have huge benefits for your mental health.

The book offers a few mock sessions with fictional patients that deal with real life issues – we get a sense of what it means to go to therapy and what subjects are discussed there. There are couples, women, and men, and each have their own issues that they need to discuss – a great variety of issues are being dealt with and are inching away at a resolution. Also, there are examples of what happens in the first session where the therapist determines what type of therapy is needed going further – all the anxiety and trauma about seeing a psychotherapist goes away. The more you know about a thing the least possible number of things for it to scare you.

In a fast world with high amounts of stress we will inevitably face all sorts mental disorders at one stage or another – seeing a therapists will become as necessary as doing routine blood work. Preparing ourselves with information for what is needed for when such a situation appears is necessary. The recent talk shows, videos and books that have appeared in order to further educate on this aspect are extremely useful and hopefully the trend will continue until psychotherapy will be seen as the helpful hand that we need.

Jul 17
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Movie: Brain on Fire

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Cringeworthy! There is no other way of putting it, the movie is a slaughter of the book – nothing has been left untouched – the true chronology of events, the reactions, the relationships. For a person that has read the book before this looks like a joke.

If I were to remove the fact that I read the book before I saw the movie I would still have the same reaction. The story is very weak, the actors are worse. Everything seems fake – there is not an ounce of originality in the entire movie. it is a poorly written script with an even more poorly execution. There is no feel whatsoever, the cinematography is absent also. From all directions this seems one those failures that are always released for some reason.

If I were to add a third view, that this is about a true story that contains a breakthrough in diagnosing and treating a disease , it would still be an extremely crappy movie. Nothing in it brings alive the true anguish of suffering. The fear of unknown is butchered, portraying only an angry father that gives ultimatum to doctors – this is the length to which an incredible memoir was reduced too.

Thinking that the story is so very well written and researched, with the goal of both therapy to the author and as a lesson for people that might suffer from the same thing, it seems unthinkable that someone approved this movie – I cannot even begin to conceive what the author and the rest of the people involved thought of this.

Jul 16
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Book: Brain on Fire

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I have always been fascinated with memoirs, the idea of reading the exact thoughts that a person has, albeit subjective, draws me in every time. One of the best things that mass education has given us is the ability of people to write down their lives and experiences – their intimate inner workings and how they chose to deal with a certain situation or event.

Brain on Fire is definitely a memoir, but it is so much more. The level of research that has gone into writing this book is staggering, and if I was to include the gargantuan task that was needed to find the courage and energy to write this it becomes, probably, one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

As I have been dealing with my own struggles I became aware of this book – although I kept postponing reading it for quite a while – mostly because it was about a person that was trying to figure out what was wrong with them and trying to share their experience in doing so, a subject that is very close to my heart.

As a young intellectual with a writing passion that goes through a gruesome medical episode I cannot but admire the necessary effort, both physical and mental, to come up with such a composed and detailed recollection of events – as the author mentions in the book, she had to go through thousands of medical records, speak to an army of doctors and interview every person that was a part of her story in order to remember and recollect what has happened.

The memoir is also unique in the sense that it details almost a breakthrough – a young journalist that suffers what happens to be a breakdown that actually is a very rare and serious disease. Her telling of the numerous doctors and tests that she had to go through to little avail, the way in which it has traumatised her family and the ones closest to her, the way in which she felt like she was losing every sense of what herself was – a disease that was discovered only a few years before she has suffered the episode and the way in which the diagnose was made is almost like the script for a House MD episode, only that this was real and the pain and suffering was not played out, but felt.

The memoir, with its plot and medical terminology explained, is set to offer a vivid exploration into the mind and actions of a sick person, but it also wants to be a resource for people that might be going through the same experience. It is popularising autoimmune disease and informing people that a very unknown disease might be what they are really suffering from and not the more common diagnosis that they have received – the book also mentions in the final chapters the story of a father that, because he had read the experiences of the writer, was able to get the doctors treating his daughter to do the necessary test, diagnose her properly and offer her the needed treatment – so, just by the fact that one life was saved or was significantly improved by the author’s story proves that it was well worth the effort of the documentation and writing of the book.

No fiction will ever beat real life – the pain and disorders we go through on a daily basis offers us more knowledge and art that we ever hope to receive from any masterpiece – the fact that one person’s experience can make a difference in the lives of others proves that we are on the right track to becoming more knowledgeable and adapt to what difficulties lie ahead.

The story of Susannah Cahalan is one of those rare gems that, through suffering and documentation, grips the reader and makes him suffer. And through that suffering it makes the reader more compassionate and informed, and nothing is more necessary in our day and age.

The monthlong epic compacts so many emotions that it is hard to simply read the book, you have to live the despair of the person that thinks it is losing its mind; the parents of a young adult that go through a shock and a constant fear of what is about to happen; simple lives of friends and lovers that are forever changed by something that they never imagined or prepared for. And to add on top of that, the courage to bring these experiences on paper; to relieve, explore and inform.

Jul 10
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Book: When Breath Becomes Air

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Many times, I wondered what is left of us after we pass away. What do we actually leave behind? It’s always an impossible list as I always know that something might happen that will be definitory to my life up until that point. What we need to make that list is a clear sign that our demise is near and that we will not be able to amount to much else than we already have – but even then, are we really incapable of something great that will remain as our most valuable lesson? Is the idea of death an influence when it is imperceptible or when it is all-encompassing?

Paul Kalanithi emigrated to the US along with his parents and initially followed academic studies in English literature, ultimately to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. He chose the hardest medical profession, neurosurgery, in which he became one of the most respectable and acclaimed fellows. His residency training was assimilated quickly and he became chief resident. Offers of academic research were pouring in – a remarkable career lay ahead with certain voices calling him one of the best neurosurgeons and doctors of his generation.

After experiencing night sweats, unrelenting back pain and a cough he chose to have a medical check-up that delivered the fatal news: lung cancer. A non-smoker, recently married with everything pointing to a fulminating career was drawn in the tragic story of untimely death.

The story does not end here – this is not the story of the brilliant neurosurgeon that dies of cancer and the world will never know what might have happened. The story begins here – the recollection of his childhood, the love for literature and his family and the last stand in the face of death. Treatment begins and all the ups and downs that come along with it. Hard choices are being made – he and his wife decide to have a daughter, he continues to practice his trade and decides to write a memoir.

When Breath Becomes Air is a memoir that will become a classic – it is pure and straightforward, it paints the image of a life that was lived as all lives are lived and was extraordinary in its unspectacularly dullness. A family that emigrated, a son that became a neurosurgeon and married and after a swift illness had passed away. But there is more, much more – between every line of text there is this feeling that lingers on, like tasting salt. It is simple, but it masks an incredible thirst for knowledge, a love for mankind and the art it is capable of. To study, to practice, to love, to write – each with its difficulties and rewards.

Paul Kalanithi takes us on the journey of his life, we see him as he has saw the world around him. We learn of the hardships and the joys of his life. The struggle of becoming a neurosurgeon, the passion for helping people and developing his craft, the illness and the decisions that have come alongside it, his family and the last day as a doctor. It is intense and it is real and there is nothing more to say other than that – it is a life between two covers, a real life.

To the world When Breath Becomes Air is what we will have left of Paul Kalanithi – we will remember him as a writer and only a handful of his patients that he operated on during his residency will remember him as a doctor. The illness reshaped his life and with that his destiny – he might have become the greatest neurosurgeon in the world, but today he is known as the man that documented his life and his illness, his family and his trade, in one amazing memoir that will remain his testament upon this earth. The incurable disease has stolen the son, the husband and the father from a family and the man who could have made a real difference for some patients, but it has given the world an insight to the nature of man.