Out of Mind, Out of Sight

2014

Documentary

Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 90%
IMDb Rating 7.2/10 10 415 415

prison mental illness

Director

John Kastner Photo
John Kastner

Top cast

John Bradford Photo
John Bradford as Self
Sharron Capper Photo
Sharron Capper as Self
Elizabeth James Photo
Elizabeth James as Self
Susan Jansman Photo
Susan Jansman as Self

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Hallelujah289 8 / 10

Quietly dramatic, affecting documentary

Unexpectedly wholesome documentary about people who have committed violent crimes, or who have violent tendencies and severe mental illnesses. The institution is in Canada.The title of this documentary is "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" and the title and the spin it has is not completely related to how the documentary pans out. The title suggests that the community places mentally ill people in Brockville mental institution to keep them out of the way but in the actual stories the patients tell, many opt to stay at the institution while their family is willing to receive them as in the case of Michael who killed his mother in a schizophrenic and psychotic episode. Others like Carole threaten suicide unless they are taken back into the hospital when they have been discharged. Others of course downplay the nature of their mental illness like Sal or like Justine and are kept until they are released.Some patients are estranged from their families and others are there for life, but in any case this documentary is more like a contemplative look at these four patients rather than a study about patient vs community or patient vs family or even the popular theme of patient vs hospital. This documentary isn't antagonistic really at all, even though of course it does mention the difficulties between patient and staff that can arise.In one scene it is said how the patient Carole can be kind in complementing a nurse, and then ten minutes later wish death on his or her kids. Carole also lies about rape by a male nurse, which she later admits to. The documentary shows us the many sides of Carole, her relationship with another patient, Sal, who is schizophrenic and violent and who no one will hang out with. The documentary shows us Carole's favorite teddy bear which we find out later is a substitute for the child she lost at birth. The documentary shows us the violence of these patients but also their extreme vulnerabilities. Carole has a disfigured body from when she jumped from a building, and in one scene she cries how she doesn't feel loved and wants to die.Many other patients are extremely challenging to work with but you get the sense that in this case, the staff are genuinely caring even as they are cautious and will often wrestle the patients or use restraints. One measure that you can tell the staff is caring is the privacy cloth that they hang on the doors of the patients' rooms at night. The staff try to maintain a measure of both vigilance but not hyper vigilance, and will look the other way should patients like Carole and Sal want to have sex not on the ward property, but maybe behind the hedges. This is really a much better run hospital than one would really expect. The patient Michael who killed his mother (mental illness or no) is allowed not to talk about the incident until he wishes to. Michael's family, Italians, are also both cautious with him but remarkably supportive in that they accept what he did but blame his illness, schizophrenia, rather than him for the murder (second degree manslaughter) of their mother.This is a remarkable documentary because everyone is so ordinary and are acknowledged to have reason for their sorrow, their yearning, even if not their violence. It's a quiet documentary rather than a dramatic one, even though the potential for drama is definitely there. Thankfully the filmmakers show restraint and do not peer do deeply into the patients lives or their crimes. Much of what I have told you was said in passing or not lingered in very much. Thankfully there is little sense of anyone being exploited here which is always a concern in these types of documentaries about the mentally ill.This documentary succeeds in achieving balance. It is calm, and neither dispassionate or sentimental, yet has a good way of showcasing the upheaval these patients experience as well as their humanity and the lives they have lost in the severity of their mental anguish and the consequences in result.Very well recommended, no real qualms. The filmmaking is good and above average too, having a good mind for pacing and for overreaching narrative. As stated it's a quiet film, and understated, so it won't blow minds unless your mind can be blown by an Italian family willing to welcome back the son who killed the loving mother. Quietly dramatic, and thus affecting.This film could be served by a better title however and a better description because it is quite unlike what you would expect for a documentary of this topic. I think the title tried to play into the drama that viewers often want to see in stories about mental hospitals, the bitter fights for choice and freedom and all that, but this documentary is pretty anti-climatic because everyone is so chill and they all get along (I mean, y'know, relatively). This is really mental hospitals as they should be and the families of the mentally ill as they should be. But don't let this problem of marketing distract you from what is rather a searching look to humanize those billed as criminally insane or violent, and acclimatize you to those who treat them.
Reviewed by arlenesignup 7 / 10

That Debbie Vallentgoed

Her laughing at the patients irked me. No stars for her. But movie is a worthwhile piece.
Reviewed by bren-87576 8 / 10

Very good documentary

I thought it was done well. The four that they picked to interview were good choices. Being an empath, I felt a lot of pain for them and their situation. I felt that the male staff were much more compassionate than some of the women nurses. The ones who seemed to laugh and joke about all this i felt to be pathetic. The one nurse, especially so, who seemed to think it was all a big joke and came across as though she was superior and she was very condescending. That aside, I feel like it is definitely worth watching.
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