There are a lot of great films out there about medicine. Most people are not willing to give them a chance because they do not like the gory medical imagery, but in both mainstream and indie films you can find a lot of great films dealing with medical issues from medical documentaries to family films.
One of the greatest medical stories (not exactly a documentary but taken from the autobiography of the person that lived it) is 1989's My Left Foot. The story details the life of an Irish writer/poet/painter who, as you might has guessed from the title, only has control of his left foot (due to a cerebral palsy). The movie is moving but by no means schmaltzy. Brown overcomes some serious adversity but does not describe himself as a saint by any means. The film looks at 1930's working class Ireland, which was also extremely well done and made for an interesting background. Brown's My Left Foot is well known in the states because of the Academy Award winning movie starring Daniel Day Lewis. In Ireland, Brown's legacy is more expansive and is considered a visionary for the book and film My Left Foot. The book he released after My left Foot, Down All Days, was considered more successful (so much so that The Pogues named a song after the book titled Down All Days. He continued working till his death from alcoholism in 1981 (as I said, he was no saint).
Another wonderful new indie film to watch is the film 1998 film Patch Adams. Again, this is more of a story based on true to life events than a real medical documentary, but it is still worth a look. It describes the fight of real life Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams against the medical academy. He argues that patients in open heart surgery recovery, or any kind of recovery, need to be treated with humor, compassion, and respect, not just medicine. He spent a good deal of his career arguing with the medical community until his idea on bonding and laughter as tools in the healing process finally got accepted.
Robin Williams is also in Jack, a Francis Ford Coppolla film about a boy stricken with Werner syndrome which causes his body to age rapidly. The film does a good job at portraying the experience of a boy in a man's body. This is more of a mainstream than an indie film. It may not be too medically informative but it is entertaining none-the-less.
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HomeStan Productions is dedicated to creating thought provoking indie films. They produce cutting edge and gripping independent films about both personal and social issues.
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