La moindre des choses

On paper, taking a group of mentally disabled people out to the country and rehearsing them for a few weeks to perform an operetta might seem like a noble purpose with the unspoken proviso that nothing could possibly come of it.

That's where you're wrong. Documentarian Nicolas Philibert ("To Be and To Have") uses his camera to document and interact with the subjects. He becomes 'one of them' and as such is privy to many private moments that communicate volumes.

Philibert is known for shooting widescreen 35mm doc's and in this film the country scenery and summer sunshine are perfectly captured. The outdoor performance of Witold Gombrowicz' "Operette" captures the color of the costumes and texture of the make-up as well as the trans-formative powers of LIVE theater itself.

The patience and encouragement of the production staff is shown off to great effect as dysfunctional candidates are taken through a variety of settings from acting and music rehearsals to the creation of sound effects for the 'thunderstorm' scene.

MUST-SEE viewing for anyone even remotely connected to a mentally ill person or hospital profession. Watching some go from semi-autistic to dancing a waltz on-stage is nothing short of miraculous.

Check this one out (ON the big screen if possible)!!!

The best film I've seen this year. The patients of an experimental countryside asylum prepare to stage their annual summer play.

This time they have chosen Witold Gombrowicz's Operetta, which is a do-it-yourself play, an "unhinged" play that is supposed to be hinged on the context provided by the participants, thus changing its form and meaning every time it is performed; a Gestalt play, so to speak.

Now, this is a great device because it not only offers the patients a canvas to organize the absurd details of the play and outline them into their own images, but it also presents them an artistic mirror, reflecting in which they become more aware of their own pathology.

I can't find enough words to express my admiration for director Nicolas Philibert, whose subtle and humane eye merges the observer with the observed.

Many of the patients shown in the documentary are some of the most kindhearted, gentle and self-aware souls that you'll ever meet. None of them is weird for the sake of being weird, like the glamorous representation of an insane that you see in a mainstream film. These souls are lost, bewildered, exhausted and stuck in their patterns, just like you and me and our next-door neighbor. Only that they have given up the fight... or maybe "goaded" by the society to give up the fight (the title of the review is the only piece of advice that one patient has for the viewer).

Highly recommended.