God Knows Where I Am

I knew this was going to be difficult to watch, but last night I finally pulled it up on my DVR. Wow. The filmmakers brought this woman to life and didn't sensationalize her death. Great use of simple but elegant recreations of the house where Linda Bishop spent her last months. The music fit perfectly; the voiceover was compelling. The interviews with friends and family started out light and loving, and you're wondering where did things go wrong for her? The tension builds as her story unfolds, and the unbelievable happens.

I appreciated the panel discussion with the filmmakers and a physician led by Hari Sreenivasan after the movie was shown on my PBS station (KCTS). It helped me better understand how this could happen, and how it relates to the issues of mental health and homelessness in the Seattle area.

Everyone should see this movie.

I'm not into documentary's . But this caught my attention .Cause I see my ex wife in this Bishop lady. so many lost souls walking out there with no hope of a happy ending. I think its the best documentary on the subject of schizophrenia. God Knows Where I Am . I recommend you watch this .

I have never in my life been so mesmerized and crushed simultaneously, by a film. If mental illness runs in your family, you need to see this. It will change your life.

The subject matter has been well covered in other reviews, but I just want to mention that the film making's use of conventional documentary tropes such as re enactments, voice over, interviews, and pans over letters, are somehow woven together in a mesmerizing fashion with absolutely beautiful cinematography and lighting of the re enactments, which are shot in the actual house. The shots linger over beautifully lit and composed scenes, without feeling slow. The voice actress that plays the crazy lady is really good. The music is subtle but creepy and melancholy and really adds to the atmosphere. Almost every line is a description of the woman by another person who starts out with the word "she", which at times is almost overwhelming though i'm sure that was the point. "she was this, she was that, she was the other, she did this she did that," imagine hearing sentences starting with the word she at least 200 times. Anyways the production values here really elevate this over the way this type of story is usually handled.

As a former psychiatric patient who ultimately chose talk therapy over medication, it's important for me to understand that psychiatric drugs are often necessary and therapeutic. I'm not sure, however, that the average viewer fully understands how traumatic psychiatric treatment can be, or the deleterious side effects of the antipsychotic drug therapies that were part of Linda's treatment.

It is heartbreaking how the stress of work, being a single mother, and the fraying of family relationships due to paranoia from Linda's illness all contributed to a loss of functionality and a downward spiral, as the documentary portrays. I do feel compassion for Linda's sister and friends and the owner's of the house where Linda starved to death, unknown to them.

The average viewer may not see God in the tragic story, but I'm not sure He wasn't with Linda. You see, she was losing touch with reality and couldn't deal with the treatment her illness would require. An abandoned house must have seemed the only option. But, something prevented her from harming others. Even her imaginary husband, Steve, was perhaps a reminder of love and family, perhaps because she had seen him being part of a loving couple at the Chinese restaurant while she was waitressing.