My Beautiful Broken Brain

It seems people who have had experience with strokes or other brain injuries are the first to be weighing in about this film. I thought it was an excellent, commendably honest look at the confusion and frustration which are common components of the injured brain. (In my case, I experienced a fractured skull with subdural hematoma when I was just entering my teen years. It took a full year of therapy for me to fully recover.) I was spared aphasia, yet I experienced hemi-paralysis and remember vividly the cognitive distortions and unreal-seeming surprises that occurred, much as they to do the brave Lotje in the film.

All in all, I thought this was an outstanding film, and wish nothing but the very best for the brave young lady who documented her experience.

I thought the style of the documentary was a little irritating visually but very interesting. Nice touch at the finale with David Lynch. She is remarkable and adorable lady and so great she is in recovery. Of course its the least of her worries but I would have considered surgery on that mole/wart on her lip. Such a beautiful girl but on close ups thats all you see.

Overall wonderful movie, very empowering and motivational. Some scenes may be frightening or intense for young children, and the events that happen may be difficult for them to understand. Clean of blood and bodily fluids, no extreme graphics, and one curse word throughout the whole movie with minimal nudity.

Notable events: Head and shoulders of naked woman in bath tub. Naked man statue in one scene in the back; you cannot see the junk at first so there's time to block the screen before it comes into view. A few scenes with a shirtless teen boy, and a few with a boy wearing short shorts. No sex at all. One photo of a married couple kissing at the end of the movie.

One f word at 1:10:07.

This film is an amazing and positive glimpse into the area of brain dysfunction. Although it is specific to a stroke, I found the symptoms very similar to those I suffered with Lyme and a separate incident of oxygen loss. I recommend it to anyone who knows someone with Alzheimers, Lyme, stroke or any brain disabling illness. The subject of the film is young, intelligent, beautiful and most importantly positive as she struggles to find her way through the situation she's in, pockmarked with the fear and loss of herself and her future from her disability. It's her positive traits and the telling of this as a human story, not a medical document that makes this a revealing glimpse into this world.

Wow! I was mesmerized by her story and her beautiful mind... I am a nurse, and worked for many years in a acute care unit, so I dealt with this look-a-like situations on a daily basis. I always wondered about the implications of this situations, specifically in aphasic syndromes... and, somehow, always felt helpless. I mean, it's really challenging: the depersonalization, the lack of freedom that the unit routines impose, people not recognizing/redefining themselves, the uncertainty towards the future and life-goals/projects, the "re-construction" of the self and pursuing/finding a meaning. It's a really emotive journey! If you can, please read: "De Profundis - Valsa Lenta", from José Cardoso Pires (a top Portuguese writer), that describes his experience when he had a stroke. I kept remembering his writings throughout the film, he had a really similar point of view...