A: This film is about three misfits who have diseases that greatly impact their lives, and they escape from a mental health center to travel across Europe to the sea. Vincent has torrettes, Alex has OCD and Marie has anorexia. The one who stuck out the most to me was the anorexic girl—one has to be in an extremely low state of mind to reject food. Although I can relate to the pressure to be skinny, I cannot relate to the rejection of food on her level—it is as if she enjoys feeling hungry and destroying her body, past the point of wanting to feel skinny and into wanting to hurt herself. The scenes involving her disorder were disturbing.
B: The camera angles in this film are very unique, making scenes without dialogue move quickly and spark intrigue. When the characters are in the Austrian mountains there is no dialogue, but the camera angles convey that it is a peaceful, happy time in the characters’ journeys. The camera moves from close up, to wide-angle shot, to panning, to zooming all in one scene.
C: The acting was excellent in this film, and the actors were cast based on skill. Obviously a skinny girl had to be cast in the role of the female with anorexia to fit the role, no matter her skill level, but this actress does a fantastic job with the role.
D: The plot is very compelling. The main character is Vincent, and his father checks him into a mental health facility in Germany. There, he meets his OCD roommate and a girl who he develops romantic feelings for. The three of them escape from the facility to go to the sea in Italy, while being pursued by the director of the facility and Vincent’s aggressive father.
E: Themes in this film are in-depth. The debate on how to deal with people with mental diseases arises, like how to treat torretts, and how the main character should be integrated into the real world. The film shows a more personal side to the three mentioned disorders, and the love story between Vincent and Marie displays that there are real, normal human thoughts and emotions inside these characters. When the three characters escape the mental facility, viewers watch as Alex overcomes parts of his OCD and Vincent learns to deal with his syndrome a bit better while Marie’s condition becomes near fatal. It shows that different treatment methods work better for different people, and sometimes professional help can actually hurt an individual.
F: If any genre could be placed on this film it would be Indie: a broad genre title for a unique film. Although there is romance, political issues and adventure, none of these genres define the film, whatsoever.
G: This film represents people with mild to moderate mental disorders. It portrays them in a very human way, not a stupid, emotionless animal as some may view them. The film also shows that these people are very capable and should not be sheltered or babied, because it can worsen their condition rather than help it. Alex’s OCD lightened up significantly when he set out on his own in the real world, rather than was cooped up in a room with only the disorder to think about.
H: In addition to the political questions regarding what treatment is right for mentally disabled, family values are also questioned in the film. How far does one go for his family? At what point do you give up on someone? These questions are overcome to show that although family can be frustrating, communication and understanding is key in these relationships. No matter how tough or uncomfortable a situation gets, a father must always be there for his son.
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