Awakenings (Year 2)
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In my opinion this film was extremely moving even though it wasn’t the first time I saw it. I find it very interesting. The passion dr Sayer had for his research but also for helping his patients was compelling. All doctors should have passion like that. If it wasn’t for dr Sayer they would have never discovered that it is possible to wake these people up and give them a chance to be back, to say what they need, to experience life once again. Some of them were happy to be back, some of them were worried (as Lucy who was a little bit afraid of being older than 22) or felt “swindled” (one patient described his feelings with this word). We can learn from this movie that we don’t appreciate the lives we have. Leonard points that out while talking with dr Sayer and I think he’s right. We think it is normal to have friends, family, work etc but we see how amazing these things are only when we lose them. “Awakenings” showed me that every day can be my little miracle I should appreciate. Miracle of the summer 1969 changed my way of thinking.
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Yes. They were catatonic patients who survived the epidemic of encephalitis lethargica.
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At the begining of this movie, I felt like it wolud be another classic ‘happy end story’, but it wasn’t. It was heartbreaking for me. It gave me a reflection about my own life. You never know what is going to happen to you. We live normal lifes, have our everyday problems and do not think about that, this trials and tribulations, make our life precious. I sure admire dr Sayer’s passion and the Patients’ strenght to fight for their lifes. This doctor and hospital staff encounter hard to imagine situation. They gave life and took life. I think they tried their best, even if it sounds brutally. It’s was a beautiful story, whitch has been showed in a very real-life way.
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Hi Julia! What made dr Sayer administer L-Dopa to the catatonic patients? What kind of drug is it? Is it still in use?
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At first he couldn’t admimnister it because of the costs, but when he has showed Leonard’s progress to the doners, they donated money to fund the L-Dopa. L-Dopa is a drug, whitch increases dopamine concentrations and it is in use of the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. It is still in use.
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Yes, but what made Sayer administer a medicine for parkinsonian patients to the catatonic, post-encephalitic patients in the first place?
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He noticed that post-encephalitic patients react to some triggers like falling glasses or ball and they catch that things.He wondered if there is a corelation between that triggers and their response.
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What about the conclusions? He surely had a reason to put his catatonic patients on the medicine meant for people with Parkinson’s Disease.
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I’m not sure, but I think he came up with this idea after doing reaserch about post-encephalitic patients and this drug. He had spoken to some doktor, who did this reaserch and gone to the lecture about this drug.
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I found that movie really touching, too. To be honest I cried, and it’s not happennig very often. I think it was a good lesson for every of us, bo mosty for dr. Sayer. He didn’t like (or didn’t know how) making relation with people instead prefered living alone with his misterious plants. Leonard taught him how important love, family or friendship are.
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Hello! I am aware that my opinion sound kinda cliche. As a future psychologist I understand that there is no issue which is right for anybody. However, that movie raises a lot of issues and, I belive, every person can find something that is touching or teaching him in it. For example the matter of friendship or love and how it is important in our lives – I think that meeting Leonard have changed dr Sayer’s life (finally he realised that dating is such not a bad option :)). Nevertheless, that picture show us mostly people in coma are still the people- they can hear and want our presence, just like us. They are not a burdens which need to be treated gently till death (or awakening).
The nature should be treated respectfully as long as we do not experience it fully yet.
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Hello, everyone.
Thank you for your voice in the discussion, but I’d like to remind you that officially we start tomorrow. Therefore, don’t be put off if your post is not responded to.By the way, did you know that the character of dr Sayer was based on Oliver Sacks?
Cheers!
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Yeah! I’m a huge fan of dr Oliver Sacks. He wrote a lot of amazing and interesting books about all kind of diseases. In one of them “The Mind’s Eye” he describes even his own problems with health. I’ve read some of them and after that I’ve started to collect them. I was devastated when he passed away in 2015.
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My all-time favourite is Musicophilia. Oliver Sacks describes here the power and importance of music. I could learn also about some very unusual disorders or capabilities as for example seeing colors of tones. Perfect pitch also is fascinating. As a person who plays violin I’d love to have it. After all I think the topic that interest me the most is epilepsy connected with music. Patients described in his book were unique and needed doctor with huge knowledge to treat them. Fun fact is that I read this book during my hospital stay.
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The movie was both fascinating and moving. When first reading about the disease and the L-dopa effects on it I found it very interesting since I’m fascinated by how much the chemicals in our brains control us. However, seeing Leonard’s story actually play out on screen made me think about the real human experience that comes with it. Watching him slowly go back to life and enjoy the simple things was joyous and uplifting while watching his condition decline was truly heartbreaking. It’s almost hard to believe the movie was based on a true story since the effects the drug had on the catatonic, ghost-like patients seemed like a true miracle. Overall I’m left with a lot of thoughts and reflections about the things we take for granted, the mystery of the human mind and the importance of simple human interactions
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Agatha, you mentioned the mystery of the human brain. You’re right because despite advancement in medicine, we know very little about it. Why was (or still is) hard for you that this movie was based on true story?
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Hi! Yes and although now we probably know much more about the drug, I also found Dr. Sayer’s speculations about why it didn’t work interesting (eg. that the patients just couldn’t cope with losing so much of their lives).
What I meant was that the changes the patients went through after receiving the drug were so huge that it seemed unreal but I do believe it really happened
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I found his move very interesting in the way that it shows how improtant it is to trust some people whose ideas may seem somehow extraordinary. To trust people who want to push things forward that we are used to and don’t have any motivation to change them. That scene when awakened Leonard started to fight for his own rights and this doctor said that I would be better if they stopped giving him this l-dopa medicine – I was steamed! How could they want not to make a step forward? Even though it had it’s consequences – it was so valuable. I was deeply moved by this aspect of this movie.
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It was worth spending two hours on that movie, not only for male characters but for women, too.
Leonard’s mother was an overprotective but caring, courageous and strong person. She gave up her life for his son. She started to ‘lose’ him at his school age. She was observing his first tremors, making excuses for his friends (when he was not able to play with them), taking care of him when he was expelled from school and when he stayed in the hospital. Finally, she trusted dr Sayer and decided to start L-dopa treatment. After Leonard’s awakening, she was still treating him as a child. She couldn’t get over the fact that he preferred to spend time with another woman, that Leonard needed some space and time without her presence and that he created his new personality. Even her grandmotherly sides, she always was there for her son and never let him alone.
The next woman was Eleanor, without whom dr Sayer would be left without support. From the beginning to the end, she believed in the success of experimental treatment, motivated other nurses to work and spent the nights in the hospital to work harder. What’s more, she was able to give dr Sayer some tips, how to make a good impression on others.
And, finally, the woman who Leonard was seeing for a while in a diner. Conversations with her were enriching his hospital’s life. She made him feel normal and important.-
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The first reason is that he was a doctor in the meaning of science degree, so he was probably curious about the world and he was ready to face new problems. The second reason is that dr Sayer believed that his patients were not only mannequins. For example, he knew, that catching balls were not only simple reflexes. He was determined to continue his experiment because it was successful in many fields. What’s more, dr Sayer really wanted to help these people. His hope helped him believed that he could bring them to life. Gratefulness and happiness showing by his patients were encouragement for further actions.
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Yes, you right. But what about medical reasons? Of course, he was a kind and a caring doctor, but what made him choose L-Dopa in the first place?
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Dr Sayer found out the connection between patients. They all suffered from encephalitis in their past. After research and meeting with a specialist, he learned about the post-encephalitic syndrome. In the neurological conference, in which he participated, he heard about L-dopa. That drug was effective in Parkinson’s disease. Dr Sayer came up with the idea, that L-dopa could help his patients (who had similar movement/ catatonic symptoms to parkinsonian patients). At the beginning, he succeeded.
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Yes, I noticed Leonard was very doctile at first as though he was literally waking up. His streak might have been a side effect but as you know this is science. Each experimental move leads to good things and other ones that we would like to avoid. The point is how we face it – do we give up and pretend that nothing happened (dr Sayer’s colleagues) or try to do someting with this situation that is demanding.
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In my opinion, despite intriguing story, Awakenings is not as touching as it could be. It’s a movie with unexceptional direction and powerful acting. The story of dr Sayer and his patients is fascinating and it spurred me to find more information about it. Even though Awakenings hasnt got me on the edge of my seat I do have some reflections. The words which dr. Sayer says in the end sum up my after thoughts – “ … and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship,family.”
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I’m afraid I am not sure what to write here – my afterthoughts, how the problem is solved?
While watching the movie I was focused on a storyline and behaviorual aspects of the protagonists. In the film, Sayer uses a drug designed to treat Parkinson’s disease to awaken catatonic patients. The results are dramatic and amazing but they turned out to work only temporarily. All the patients reverts to their previous state. However, after the „awakening” hospital staff change their approach to their patients. They treat them with more respect and care.
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For me, “Awakenings” was a very touching movie, almost hard to watch, because after reading the first chapters of “Brain storms” for our upcoming exam, I already knew how L-dopa works and what side-effects to expect. That’s why just like Sylwia, I couldn’t help but become a bit teary-eyed during some scenes, because I knew that the miraculous effects would wear off after a while. I also agree with Julia that it wasn’t a “happy end story”, but I wouldn’t say it ended badly. At least, thanks to dr Sayer the patients were now treated differently. The nurses were spending time with them, engaging them in activities and not leaving them to their devices after simply administering medicine. Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking to watch a person be so close to getting their life back only to loose it again.
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Hi Kinga! It’s a good thing that you mentioned “Brain Storms” by Jon Palfreman. Did you watch the film before I asked you to watch it? What side effects of L-Dopa did you expect?
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Hello. It was my first time watching this movie, but as I said, the case of Oliver Sacks’ patients was brought up in “Brain storms”, so I knew that dr Sayer’s character was based on him. The book also described the side-effects such as involuntary movements, need to take higher doses with time and the “on-off effect”. Another effect was impulse-control disorder, which I think could be an explanation of Leonard’s agressive and rebellious behavior.
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L-Dopa might be a very effective medicine but you never know when it’s going to stop working.
The “on-off effect” is also called “on-off oscillations” L-Dopa does release you from immobility and have excellent response but then, after some time, it gives rise to diskinesia. Wonderful and at the same time “unwunderful” medicine.
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I was really moved by this film. Leonard’s struggles reminded me, how many things in life we take for granted. It puts things into perspective, just how trivial most of our daily problems are compared to what the encephalitis patients are going through. I can’t imagine how terrible it must feel to be literally trapped inside one’s body, unable to interact with the outside world.
So it made me very happy to see a remission in Leonard’s symptoms after the inital administration of L-dopa. But at the same time, I knew that it must’d been very difficult to accept the fact that he had “been away” for almost 30 years, that the life went on while he was stuck in the moment. And watching him relapse, after he had found love and things in his life were sorting out was devastating.
Nevertheless, even if the overall story came to a bitter-sweet ending, it left me with some hope. Hope, that there will be more doctors like dr. Syer, who won’t stop their studies, who won’t give up on the seemingly hopless cases. Even if Dr. Sayer’s efforts in the end couldn’t cure Leonard and the others, they weren’t fruitless. Because in my opinion, trying and failing at least makes you learn and aquire new knowledge on the subject, which you could’t acheive by doing noting at all.-
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Unfortunately not. Most of the doctors I’ve met in my life were more like dr. Kaufman: obedient to the known guidelines, not really willing to bring something new to the table. I believe the main cause of this situation is that many doctors are overworked and simply don’t have enough time end/or energy to do something extra.
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For me, there are two most important lessons in this movie. I have watched it before, so this time I looked at it differently. I wanted to see it from the perspective of someone who may work with children with neurological disorders in future.
I love main character. He was amazingly positive and compassionate towards his patiens and he was brilliant… But movie shows undoubtedly that he had no experience working with neurological patients, so him succesfully curing them was not due to his “brilliancy”. Well it was, but it was brilliancy of feeling and looking very closely at people in a place to which other doctors refer as “garden”. Noone really tried to get interested in them, seeing their cases as hopeless from the beggining. It shows that being able to help always starts with sesitivity for others. That’s the foundation. Impressive experience with patients does not always help, sometimes just makes one desensitised.
And there is the other lesson, but it is closely connected. There is a moment in which the older doctor, that main character found to ask for advice, says that patients completely stopped thinking (I believe they said that cerebral cortex stopped working?) because “alternative is unthinkable”. Really… it is not. At least, there is quite a lot stories written from the perspective of people who went completely still with active mind. Yes, those are very often horror stories but that does not mean that this cannot happen. This man behaved like there is no need to even check this scenario because it’s so horrible. Pretty bad that things so horrible that they seem unreal happen everyday.And the film was moving and beautifull. I’m happy that usually when we got movie recommended from lecturers it is a good movie. I feel like this is a chance for students to get to know more about works of culture that we would otherwise probably ignored.
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Hi, Sophie. The “alternative is unthinkable” – I sort of agree with the doctor Sayer consulted. It’s unthinkable – in the figurative sense – to be catatonic for years or decades and to be conscious, or at least partly conscious, of being alive. People need an option, and these patients had any, at least until Dr Sayer started investigating.
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„Awakenings” is truly touching and tearful movie. The story of catatonic patients, who after receiving L-Dopa medication experienced „awakenings”, is inspirational and marvelous. The plot itself kept me interested for the whole time and main characters gained my sympathy (although, each of them in a different way). Dr. Sayer’s faith and uncompromising attitude – he was really devoted to his job, but he also really cared about others. He saw in his patients something that others did not see. He saw them as humans, not only mannequins which required food and washing. Leonard’s story was hopeful and made me realize how lucky I am to be able to enjoy little things. His journey was unbelievable – he wanted so little and was so close to getting his happy ending, but as it turned out – the amazing effect of L-dopa was limited and patients returned to their catationic state. It may not ended exactly the way I wanted, but it still was a beautiful story. The movie is a must see as it gives so much to think about.
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Hi Weronika! What were your favourite aspects of the film? Was it the medical side of the story or the emphasis put on the patiens being humans, not just bodies needing to be cared for? Or maybe there was a scene you particularly liked?
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As fascinating as medical aspect of the movie was, I was truly amazed by the the story of catatonic patients, who at the beginning of the movie were overlooked and treated almost as living dolls. But dr. Sayer saw them as humans and he fought for his patients to be treated as ones. My favourite scene – the little dancing at the canteen. Seeing Leonard and Paula enjoying themselves, his spasms disappearing for a short period of time, Leonard telling Paula that he cannot see her anymore. I couldn’t help but cry.
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In my opinion the movie was intresting and moving, but the pacing was too slow for me sometimes. I was surprised to find almost all characters very likable. Usually movies like this tand to focus more on the harsh reallity and less on the hopeful and positive side of events. I think the most heartbreaking scene for me was when Leonard’s mother accused doctor Sayer of changing her son after he started to experience side effects of L-Dopa.
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Hi Iza! I agree that the movie was a bit slow-paced. Do you think that it was made this way on purpose or is it just a flaw (perhaps an indicator of the time in which the movie was made, which is 30 years ago)?
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I think it’s possible that it was directors intent to make this movie slow-paced. I noticed it expecialy at the begininig when most patients are unresponsive so it kinda makes it easier to empathize with them.
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Perhaps, it was too gentle a movie to be faster-paced? Perhaps otherwise you would have missed out on
something? Sometimes a movie being slow is not a negative thing. In my opinion, it never dragged.-
Yes, I agree that it’s not a bad thing in this movie. It’s just something that I noticed because most movies I watch are fast-paced.
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For me the movie was inspiring and interesting. It was amazing watching dr Sayer being so passionate about trying to help all of these people even though all he ever did before was research and he also wasn’t really sociable. I admire so much that he took a big risk with raising the amount of L-Dopa, hoping for a better result, even though that was a big unknown. On the other hand, we could see that for a whole time he wanted to believe he was right. He didn’t really take much things into consideration. What if he was wrong? Well, thankfully he wasn’t.
I was so happy when i watched all these patients finally “free” of their disease for a second. It was amazing. The sad thing was of course the latest side effects Leonard developed. I felt for him because it must have been awful. Finally after a long time you are “awake” but suddenly everything comes back to how it used to be and you are losing your life.
The most important thing for me was the end actually. I really like what dr Sayer said at the end “human spirit is more powerful than any drug”. This is SO moving. We have to remember that even though the patients are not responding to us the way we expect them to, they are still there. And we should care about these people, read them books, play them music, spend time with them, just like the nurses in this movie.-
Hi, I kind of agree with you about his decision being risky. Do you feel like he should have consulted it with more people before administering the drug to patients? Of course in hindsight we know that the medicine worked (at least at first), but was his decision reckless or just a demonstration of his great intuition? Can you imagine a medical decision being made that way nowadays?
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Well, i don’t think consulting it with other would make sense since until everyone saw the results, no one really believed him. So i understand that he had to take a big risk if he believed he was right. Of course we want to look at people taking risk and then being right and we take them as hero’s. I think we should all be grateful for those people because they proved something although noone agreed. But it doesn’t work in every case. These important decisions should be thought through.
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I find this movie really fascinating. It has such powerful message, and so universal the same time. The movie focuses on Dr Sayer, who lives a lonely, gray, calm, devoted to work and his studies, life of a doctor. He started working with neurological patients in the ward, although he didn’t want to. And this, twist of fate, can be said, changed his life. Patients changed his life. People who woke up after losing, in some cases- most of their lives, who had their stories, families, plans, and the will to live. The movie shows the importance of small things, the value of life that we can live as we want. I was captivated by this story. Moreover, the movie is based on actual events, along with the struggle of the main character. Ignorance of the health service or hospital management. Financial problems. Watching “Awakenings”, we realize how high the price of progress is, and how much adversity must be overcome to change something for the better.
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I think you’re right in saying that not only did the doctor change the lives of his patients, but they also changed his perspective. I think he learned that the relations with other people are more important than he thought.
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for sure, he appreciated the value of the relationship.
What a charming, warm touch the final scene was. When our doctor finally invited Eleanor on a date!
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For me everyone should watch this film. It shows us how important is a life. This is a gift for us that we can talk, walk, learn, dance etc. I can’t imagine that a virus caused a disease like this. For me it was amazing how Dr Sayer find out that brains of sick people are still watchful. He gave himself up work on looking for a drug for these sick people.I had shudders when this drug caused Leonardo to wake up from his “sleep”. Leonardo was happy and after 30 years, when he was 40 after “wake up”, he had still childish innocence. At the first moment he just enjoyed that he was alive. I was really happy watching Leonardo and other patients when they were feeling the moment that they can back to life. Sadly not entirely. Other doctors they had no empathy. They were like a robots. They were sceptical and act like they didn’t care. I felt really unfair, especially when one of this doctors, said that Leonardo was aggressive, but he just wanted to go for walk. After this everything came back to beginning.
Leonardo and other patients went back to catatonia. This drug was waking up them from time to time. For me this looks terrible. When you think that you will be okay, but suddenly you go back to previous condition. In other way I think that they were joyful and they lived with lot of hopefulness. This film show me that we should celebrate every moment and be grateful for that we can do lots of ordinary things like going to work, because we don’t know if some virus will attack us one day.-
I noticed that “childish innocence” in Leonard too! I think he knew that many years passed, but maybe didn’t worry about it. But in this scene when he look on the photograph of himself and next in the mirror for the first time he is very shocked. And maybe this moments changes his behaviour because after that he is trying to be more mature – independent from mother and let himself fall in love.
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Yes! For me it was sweet and a little funny, when he was trying to be mature and try to separate a little bit his mum from him.
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I have seen „Awakenings” for the second time and it still makes me wonder what being alive actually means. This story, aside from being the true story of the discovery that L-dopa could release people from their apparent demented state, is a marvelous metaphor or allegory for all of us in some ways sleeping through parts of our lifes.
I assume that many people can somehow compare themselves to those catatonic patients, cause they have only some brief moments of being awakened.What I also found profoundly moving is the attitude of Dr Sayer, who is such a devoted and empathetic man. He ignores the criticism of his more pessimistic colleagues and by driving forward with the drug he really tries to help his patients.
Even though the L-Dopa cure fails to work over time, as far as I’m concerned, he gave them a chance to experience life again.-
Hi Martyna! It’s an interesting observation about the film being allegorical. Do you think we appreciate what we have enough or perhaps we ‘sleep through’ most of our lives?
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Maybe not through most of our lives, but sometimes people might feel exhausted and fall asleep for a moment.
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I loved the movie, my favourite character is Dr Sayer of course. He was so engaged in helping the patients, despite he didn’t feel experienced enough to even take that job. The way he interacted with patients with encephalitis lethargica just moved me, he tested multiple different exercises trying to understand the disease. He saw things that other people did not, like the pattern on the floor which stopped Lucy from going further to the window. After taking part in the presentation of treating people with parkinson’s disease he tried to help his patients with the substance presented (L-Dopa). Even though at start there was not any visible effects he didn’t give up and even risked giving a much larger dosage to the patient. We then meet a adult Leonard Lowe, who quickly became a friend of Dr Sayer, but after some time the medicine stopped working, and the health condition of Leonard was worse and worse. The movie is based on a true story, and that’s a pity that the medicine was not an miracoulus substance that cured the mentioned disease. The movie was very moving, I’m glad that i watched it.
Filip Sikora
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I watched ‘Awakenings’ in the summer and bawled my eyes out like a little baby (I am moved by things easily). I watched it for the second time yesterday — not much changed, even though I knew how things were going to go and end. To me, the movie was marvelous. I loved how the director put together details about human brain, the way the drug worked, the side effects of it — all the ‘scientific’, neurobiological information — with just a touching story about human beings, people trapped inside ‘ghost-like’ bodies, their own tragedy of not being able to move and talk, their own problems and joyful experiences after being awoken. I can’t not talk about brilliant acting: I think it’s safe to say that Robert De Niro had his role of a lifetime with Leonard and Robin Williams did an amazing job playing dr Sayer. They both acted so naturally and effortlessly, it was like watching two best friends. My favourite scene in the whole film was the one when Leonard and Paula danced in the canteen. It made me smile through tears — even though they were happy and glad, they both knew deep down that it was their last dance, their last meeting, at least with both of them able to communicate. To me, the ultimate message of the movie was that even though there are diseases and illnesses which we can’t fully understand and treat properly, and which sometimes make us unable to function like other people do, we all still ARE people, we all still live and — in most cases — FEEL. And THAT is what we should remember — no life is better than another, but every life has its meaning, its value.
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Yes, the film was at times overwhelming but at the same time very gentle. Victoria, what exactly is encephalitis lethargica?
You wrote that despite their dramatic conditions, people with uncanny diseases are still people. Jimmy G. from “The Lost Mariner”, Clive Wearing and countless other people with neurological loss (the examples are all over the place) can find the spark that makes their lives more than tolerable (e.g. attending the mass in chapel, playing the piano, being read and talked to) and makes them to be connected to other people.-
Exactly — it was a gentle, warm movie that, despite the ending, had an optimistic message.
Encephalitis lethargica is a disease called sometimes ‘sleepy sickness’, its etiology is uncertain. The typical symptoms are high fever, headaches, lethargy, motion troubles, some patients experience tremors or muscular pains. In severe cases, people enter coma-like stage, and that’s what we can see in the film.
That’s right, and that’s what I kept thinking about while watching the movie — there are countless examples of patients with diseases which made them lead atypical lives, yet they still deserve to lead them. The most recent story I’ve read about is the story of Greg, or ‘The last hippie’, as he was called by Oliver Sacks. For him, there was no recent past, no future, but only the present. The way he connected with the world and people around him by music, by rhythm, by melodies was truly amazing and moving.-
Oh, I didn’t realise that you’ve read “The Last Hippie”, but you’re right, Greg was one of the patients I mentioned. Although he was very apathetic and stuck in the past, he had things that cheered him up – company of other people, music, in particular his favourtite band “The Grateful Dead”.
Encephalitis lethargica was epidemic in the 1920s and an estimated five million people died from causes related to it. As you said, the aetiology is unclear but a leading theory says that it was caused by streptococcal infection (streptococcus – paciorkowiec).
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The film was very touching for me. Connection between protagonists of the movie – dr Malcolm Sayer and Leonard Lowe was magical. I think they had a lot in common – they both couldn’t really fit in society. I don’t know which characteristic of dr Sayer were based on dr Sacks and which one were made up but all in all the character in the movie was so trustworthy and just good. I think he might be on some degree on the autism spectrum, it was really moving when he told Leonard “I’m not very good with people (…) I like them…” as a respond to a question if he was married. I was so proud of dr Sayer when he finally managed to invite the woman from hospital for a coffe. For me the movie was not really about illness -or at least not only about it – but about overcoming our own weakness, our fears. Leonard didn’t fight only with his disease and side effects of treatment but also with people who didn’t want to see him as a normal person but were focused on his medical condition.
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Hi Renata! I agree that the relationship between two main characters was magical. I’m interested what made you think Dr Sayer may be autistic? What characteristics of him made him such a good doctor and person in general?
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Hi Wiktoria! First of all dr Sayer he had some problems with understanding emotions and behaviours of other people, he said that people are unpredictable and he didn’t mean people with mental conditions but people in general. Second, he was able to focus on one task for long time, even though everybody else found it boring – during job interviev he was talking about his previous job. He was also very stubborn. Also, there was a scene where he said he cannot go out in the evening because he is busy, and when he get home he was sitting alone and playing piano – of course it doesn’t have to make him autistic and I want to make everybody sure – I dont diagnose him at all! But like I said before, some characteristic of dr Sack suggest it. When it’s about characteristic that made him good doctor and person – he was very inteligent and good scientist – that’s for sure, he couldn’t treat the people if he didn’t had a lot of knowledge and intelect but what is also important – he had a good will. He really wanted to help those people. I use word ‘people’ a lot but I think it’s really important to emphasise that besides of their illnesses patients of the hospital were still people above all. It was very eye-opening to see how dr Sacks was trying to understand his patients and their caregivers (like Leonard’s mom). I think his curiosity helped him a lot – or more precise – made him able to help the others.
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It’s such an interesting observation, now that I think of it, you may be right. Do you think dr Sayer’s intuition was a good thing when he administered L-dopa for his patients or perhaps he should’ve had done more research and consulted it with more specialists beforehand?
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It’s really hard question. Of course research and consultation is needed especially when it’s about medicine but on the other hand it wasn’t usual situation. These people were left alone with their illness for years. I guess he did what he was able to before he started the treatment. At first the other doctors didn’t even want to work with post-encephalitic patients. So, in my opinion it would be better if he did more research but we cannot blame him for not doing it.
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Interesting observaton but what about a simpler solution: Dr Sayers was a shy and a reserved person with a very limited social life. The nature of his pre-clinical work probably contributed to his awkwardness with other people, but the years he spent in the “chronic” hospital in Bronx opened him up, simply because of increased interactions with the hospital staff, his patients and their families. In that respect, he awoke as well.
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Of course, there can be different explanation of Sayers behaviour. I wanted to share my idea about it.
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“Awakenings” is not a movie like many others we know. The plot seems to be turned upside down. At the very beginning it appears hopeful and positive with all good news about the therapy for patients suffering from encephalitis, but then leaves us without spectacular happy ending. Character of Dr. Sayer is pure and devoted to his new patients. It is amazing how hard he is trying to find way to “awake” victims of the “sleeping sickness”.
Personally I can’t even imagine how would it be like to be a prisoner of your own body. It is cruel injustice. I must admit that the movie is eye-opening and helped me to appreciate my own health.
About the therapy with new drug back then, called L-DOPA – I have never heard about it before. Using this drug was brave and risky at the same time. When patients started behaving aggressively even doctors had no idea if it was side effect of taking L-DOPA or maybe psychological abreaction. Drug helped to bring patients back to life but unfortunately not for a long time. Main character – Leonard, who was the first sufferer taking medicine, evokes positive emotions. After spending 30 years of his life stuck in catatonic state he has a chance for a normal life again. But when L-DOPA stops working in his body he sacrifice himself and want to be a case on which Dr. Sayer could study (as when he wanted to be filmed while he was having a stroke). It is heartbreaking hearing his words: “I’m not a parson anymore but collection of tics”.
Movie itself is brilliant lesson about morality, hard work, faith, friendship and many others. Honestly, there is minimal probability that I would chose to watch this movie myself, so I’m very glad that we had to do it. It is unbelievable how one story can make us appreciate world around us. -
It was my first time watching ‘Awakenings’ and after hearing about it from others, I definitely expected a very well done movie with a tear-jerking ending and yet, I still wasn’t prepared. Hearing Leonard say ‘I am not asleep’ made me cry tears of absolute happiness, I cannot imagine what could have been going through his and Dr Sayer’s heads at the moment. First meeting with his mother, awakening of all of the patients, all these moments made me realize what’s truly important in life and how often we take it for granted, what is perfectly emphasized by Mrs Lowe. However, what struck me the most was Leonard’s attitude. Even after losing the fight with the virus, he was not only thankful for every opportunity, but he also tried his best to help Dr Sayer understand the illness better.
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Hi Ewa! I as well wasn’t at all prepared to see such a touching story. It brought me so much joy, seeing Leonard’s gratitude and happiness after L-dopa worked and he awoke. How do you think you would react in such circumstances — being awake, able to move, speak, do things out of your own volition, after so many years spent in catatonia?
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Hello Wiktoria! I think it would depend on how much time I would have spent in catatonia. Had it been a short amount of time, I’d probably feel pure happiness and relief, but after years of being in that state… It’s hard to tell. Most probably, I’d feel overwhelmed and confused, but with time, these feelings would probably change for something better.
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Watching awakenings was like watching every Robin Williams movie ever: he plays a nice, kind, clumsy and awkward but ultimately very smart guy who gives a heartwarming speech at the end. But this one has neuroscience in it!
I definitely enjoyed the “medical” side of the movie- investigating different symptoms and reactions, connections between patients from present but also the past, looking for a cure. Watching
Robin Williamsdr. Sayer and Eleonnore fight not only against the sickness itself but also against the hospital looking to cut costs was pretty interesting. I like how movie creators tackled the issue from more than one angle while presenting ethical arguments as well.Overall the movie is not bad but it’s definitely not my cup of tea
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You guys wrote almost everything! What else can I say?
For me, the most interesting thing was that Dr Sayer didn’t have any experience in working with people (dit I catch this right?). Doing research was his thing. And yet, he was the first one to notice, that these people WERE still people. He tried really hard to help them. He cared.
That was my first thought, that maybe other doctors while working with patients, were losing something. I’m not trying to say that they didn’t want to help. Maybe they didn’t have passion? They focused on only few aspects of work and it was hard for them to break this pattern, think outside the box? It’s hard to say. The fact is, that Dr Sayer’s experiments weren’t planned, they came out from his curiousity. I admired this curiousity while watching the movie and the fact, that Sayer didn’t give up on his patients.While watching the movie I cried like, three, four times. Now I’m writing this and I’m still moved. It’s easy to play on my emotions, I guess 🙂
Oh and by the way I think that we really should admit that Robin Williams and Robert De Niro did such a great job!
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I think maybe the medical staff who cared for the patients prior to dr Sayer were overall tired and used to the lack of improvement in their patients. It must be hard to care for people and have the conventional treatments not work, so I think that along the way they kind of gave up. And the unexperienced doctor was just what they needed, because sometimes you just need a fresh eye 🙂
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Yes, I think you’re right. It’s also obvious for me that it was some kind of a movie trick – we were meant to like Dr Sayer 🙂 Even I was quite sure that that their response to a ball wasn’t just a reflex (and Sayer was the only one who also think that way)!
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This film was very touching but also thought-provoking. I think this movie shows us the importance of life. One saying come to mind – “Nobody knows when the day will come”. That is why we should appreciate our lives, we don’t know what tomorrow brings. People should enjoy every moment, every event and especially they should appreciate being healthy. I really liked the last scene when dr Sayer asked his colleague to go out. It was quite a happy end. I also think film “Awakenings” brings up a subjetc of how one illness can change our way of thinking but also functioning. As far as I am concerned, loosing ability to move, talk, think, becoming a prisoner of my own body would be the worst nightmare. From medical side, I realised how mysterious is human’s brain and that we still don’t know everything about it and I’m not sure if we will ever be able to know.
When it comes to actors, I think they played their roles perfectly. It was extremely hard for both main actors to show such emotions and the physical aspect of the illness. -
Watching Awakenings was a very moving experience for me. The film has obvious advantages from its technical side, like high level acting with masterful leading roles of Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. Dr Sayer care for patients is admirable, especially when we considerate negative attitude of other doctors. The most striking thought coming out from the movie was how fragile the life is. Leonard pointed out that we need to appreciate little things more because when we are healthy, we forget how valuable they are. I think that the scene when dr Sayer asks Eleanor for a coffee, shows how whole this situation changed him and his perception of life – and it should lead us to make a conclusion about our lifes.
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“Awakenings” is a very touching movie! I have just finished watching it and I wanted to make a assessment “freshly”, but I can see that all of you already wrote about those scenes which are my favourites and the most touching for me. Probably it means that we have similar sense of sensibility 🙂
Dr Sayer is an examplar of doctor who devote himself to his work and to people. Despite all difficulties, no chances for cooperation with other doctors, being sneered by the colleagues he doesn’t give up and fight for his idea. He finds out how to treat post-encephalitic patients. He was the one who connected seemingly random patients with similar symptoms like catatonic stupor, reflex to catch a bal, small reactions for hearing their names or favourite music. He discovered beneficial effects of the drug L-Dopa thanks to connecting it with Parkinson’s disease. Each scene when dr Sayer discovers something new and valuable is moving and full of satisfaction. We can see that this moments make doctor aware that world needs him, they motivate him, let him feel fulfilled.
My favourite scene from the movie was when dr Sayer woke up and saw that Leonard is not in bed anymore. Moreover Leonard sitted in another hall and drew. He noticed that it was so quiet there and everybody was sleeping. He said that he is not sleeping. He was awaken. I loved that methafor!
Also scene when all of catatonic patiens awaked was very cheerful. They were touched by their own happinnes that they can talk, walk, smile, dance, sing, eat by themselves or even go to the toilet alone.
The end of the movie is sad unfortunetaly, because it turned out that the cure is not as effective as we expected it to be. I am very disappointed that Leonard cannot live normal life as he wanted to.
I think that doctor Sayer could learn something from Leonard and his other patients and we also can learn from them. We should appreciate those “little things” and nourish human spirit with work, play, friendship, family. Because as Leonard said “people have forgotten what life is all about. They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive.”
This movie is totally worth seeing in my opinion.-
I totally agree with you. Anyway I’m interesting what do you think about that the doctors didn’t want to let Leonard out for the walk? 🙂
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Oh, it is difficult thread! I think it was risky decision for doctors, because they still didn’t have much information about behaviour of “new” Leonard. But I also understand his natural desire to live like a normal person. I think that doctors should think about it more, look for another option to help Leonard 🙁
What do you think about it? -
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Many aspects of movie really touched me. First it was the time that those people lost like criminals in jail, it can’t be returned also the gap is impossible to fill. Second was component of love, patients remained their need to love. Regardless of their inabilities and ‘weird look’ there were some who loved them (how magical it is). Another was experimenting itself, the seeking of new results using different means, here usage of products for other purpose. Last but not least the underestimation of innovative people, just afraid of sth new; but sticking to old schemas and staying safe development can be only dream.
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Hi Hubert, do you think that if the medicine worked completely it would be possible for the patients to return to “normal” lives? Or would it be too much of a shock?
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As i mentioned, the gap was too big, they would start kind of new life. They will need to learn how the world changed, lost contact with old friends and maybe family. Job will be really challenging to get.
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I watched this movie for the first time today, but I’ve had read about the disease – Encephalitis lethargica about a few weeks ago because of current worldwide epidemic crisis. Just from the description of the condition I’ve been shocked and heavyhearted that this is something people had suffered from. And it has made me far more melancholic to see this disease on the screen. But enough sadness for a moment. This movie was in the first place so heart-warming and hope giving despite all the sorrow. It motivates me to help people, especially old, often forgotten by everyone except hospital staff.
The character of Dr. Malcolm Sayer played by Robbie Williams straight away captivated me, because of his enthusiasm, obstinacy and kindness. I couldn’t help but think about the life of Robbie and how no one: neither medicine nor psychology couldn’t help him with his depression and dementia. His character in the movie shows that nothing is written in the stone and that there’s always hope if only one person decides to not give up. I also admired the character of Leonard’s mother, how she devoted her whole life to her son, how in some way she had lost her “perfect life”. As for the Leonard himself, I’ve got so much compassion for him, I image that almost everyone who watched the scene when he “awakes” had tears in their eyes. To a healthy human being it is a appeal to try live life to the fullest and to be appreciating about everything, even the smallest things like reading a book or going dancing.
It’s a story how in this world full of horrible diseases we’ve been also given the power to fight them or to at least try.-
Hi Kamila! I agree with you — there’s always hope, there’s always a way and something we can try in order to make things better. Nothing is truly ruined or lost unless we decide it is. What did dr Sayer do in order to help his patients, first to wake them up, then for them to enjoy life in the form they were given? What do you think of his own words when he said that ‘he gave them life only to take it back’?
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Hi Wiktoria! Dr Sayer, unlike other doctors shown in the movie, decided to follow these little glimpses of consciousness in his patients. He has read books and searched through articles about this disease. He also has gone to a lecture of a chemist who gave him an idea of how to treat this sickness. Then, when the cure worked, he took them to the zoo to help them relax and then to disco so they could remember times of their youth. As for his words, I think he has pangs of conscience, but in my opinion he has been too hard on himself. He did all he could do, but the disease came back. Here could came a reflexion whether it was harder for patients to live in catatonic state for years and years or is it was far more devastating to get normal life back for a moment and lose it all again. And I think that for these patients it was a miracle, a light at the end of a very black tunnel and a sign that they are not forgotten and they still matter.
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You said that the movie has motivated you to help elderly people. How would you like to help them? Would you like to help them as a volunteer or professionally after you graduate?
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Yes, I’ve been thinking lately about a voluntary service at a hospital on an oncology or geriatric ward. I’ve also been thinking about helping elderly people professionally as a psychologist. I imagine it could be very mentally aggravating but I hope I could manage and – hopefully – help in some way.
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I think it’s a wonderful decision. If you’d like to work with children, you may read this
I’m sure the Banacha hospital offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities. -
I was volunteering at children’s oncology ward through foundation called “Fundacja spełnionych marzeń”, maybe after this quarantine you could also try there. It’s hard but at the same time worth trying and wonderful experience.
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It was at Instytut Matki I Dziecka, Kasprzaka street
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The movie made me realise that I and probably many other people don’t normally consider how a person who was “brought back to the world” will feel like. Were they aware of everything that was happening while their minds appeared to be absent? Do they realise how much time has passed? Some of those patients lost everything, their parents, children,possibly they’ve lost their partners as well as their jobs. “Awakenings” made me wonder if it’s better to “wake” such a person or is it better to leave them be. Also I’m not really sure if increasing the dose of an experimental drug fivefold was entirely ethical and justified. On the side note I trully appreciate that the movie didn’t end with a false claim of a “miraculous” recovery.
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This movie is one of my favorites. I’ve seen it several times and it impresses me every time. First of all, it makes me ask myself “what does it mean to be alive?”. The subject of the film is quite difficult. However, it also has a positive accent, showing that there is always a small spark of hope. In addition, Dr. Sayer’s determination is admirable.
Apart from that I really like Leonardo’s character. Robert de Niro most often plays tough guys, this role is completely different, but he did it well.
I guess there’s nothing more to add, because everything had been said in previous replies. -
I didn’t think that Leonard would improve so much, but when he did I really hoped he would stay that way. Unfortunatelly, he started getting worse and worse, which made this movie way more emotional than I first expected. Dr Sayer knew how important hope is and tried to help Leonard no matter how difficult the side effects would be to deal with. He treated every patient like a human being, not just a medical case, because he knew that they all have their personal stories and identity. I wish there were more doctors like dr Sayer – who would care about everyone, not focus on just money or shallow possibilities, but try their best to make their patients’ life as good as it’s possible.
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I enojoyed watching “Awakenings” more than I imagined I would, because it’s not a type of film I usually go for. The movie brings up an interesting topic, it shows life of post-encephalitic patients. The main thought that stayed with me long after watching the film was that we should never lose hope during difficult times or settle for the way things are. It’s easy to stop working on ourselves, give into old habits instead of taking time and effort to change it. The portrayal of dr. Sayer is in my opinion what all doctors should look up to. He is incredibly emphatetic and relentless. He proves that everyone, escpecially doctors, nurses, all those, whose job is to help people, should always stay curious, always question whether this is all we can do and care for each and every single person, because life is undeniably precious. Other than the plot I was stunned by the amazing acting. Robert de Niro and Robin Williams truly did a great job portraying both Leonard and dr.Sawyer, their performance made it impossible not to symphatize with characters.
To sum up, i was pleasantly surprised by the movie “Awakenings”. It made me realize that we should always look at a patient in the context of their personality, not through the prism of their illness. -
“Awakenings” – the movie that exist. I must say that Robin Williams was amazing as a star of this story, but any other actor or actress was really mediocre. I must say that pacing was kinda slow (kinga and iza already talked about it). As for the story – when i read “based on true story” i was really intigued, but then this movie started to be exaggerated, like this very theatrical way for a protagonist to meet a love interest which became already his wife and the end of the movie (in the credit scene she was described as “Ms Lowe”). I love this film by an scientific perspective , cause (if my didn’t miss anything) all medical information was really reliable. Overall for me this movie is good for discution, not so much for entertaiment. If this movie had been better it would have been well known by majority of young adults and hadn’t been scored 6.6 by filmweb.
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Kaceper, I’d like you to use standard English, including punctuation and capitalisation, and not chatspeak or SMS abbreviations.
Where did you see that dr Sayers married nurse Castello? Mind you, Mrs Lowe was Leonard’s mother.
I can’t really agree with this (edited) sentence “If this movie were better, it would be well-known among young adults” – you are entitled to your own opinion, but “Awakenings” received 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is one of the most popular review-aggregation websites, not to mention three Oscar nominations.-
On filmweb Awakenings has “only” 8,1/10, and it’s 64th best scored movie ever. It has been scored like that by the audience of course.
Critics gave its mostly 7 i 8, only two of them gave 4 i 5 and that’s why average is 6,6.
All in all you can see that people in general think that this movie is really good.
I also really liked it so I had to comment this opinion 🙂 -
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