Titicut Follies (1967)

I had to leave this film after about one hour as so much of it was just too painful to watch. I felt I was, all these years later, still violating the privacy of the men filmed. Especially since they were forced to spend so much of their time naked, in cold bare rooms with nothing to read or view--nothing. How in god's name did the prison establishment think any sort of rehabilitation could take place in those circumstances? And the bullying of the men by the guards was horrific. Enough to drive anyone already in bad mental health completely insane. I rated it as I did, however, because in contrast to the sickening procedures shown, not to mention the shocking testimony of a man who casually spoke about sexually assaulting his daughter, Wiseman's camera caught some wonderfully joyful moments of song. In scenes from performances of the Follies show, one in particular of a white man and a black man doing a beautiful duet, made it possible for the viewer to imagine a better reality. A reality in which hope survives.

Titicut Follies is not as controversial or offensive as other reviewers might claim, I found the film to be an impartial look at life inside a mental asylum. So there are naked men, so there are people being force fed because they refuse to eat. There was no question in my mind as to whether the people residing in the asylum had mental disorders or not, of course they all did, even if their logic seemed sound their sanity was not up to the level that a normal person's would be considered to be. The staff may be considered 'primitive' by todays standards but I feel they had (especially the supervisors) genuine concern for their patients. Googling reviews on Titicut Follies i quickly gathered that clearly this is a movie that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. What got my attention were the things that were spoken about but not shown. Such as the suicide that happened the night prior and the prepping of recently deceased 'JIm' for burial, also the guardsman who spoke about the gas chamber where he couldn't breathe and tears came to his eyes and stuck on his clothes even after washing them, his wife couldn't bear the stench even when they were hung in the closet even after being washed. How he wondered how the gas didn't bother the patients, (I'm sure they were bothered by it). The racial comments by the guard and the irreverent bantering of the orderly to Jim, these are the only two issues that raised my suspicions of mistreatment but, I suspect these situations were typical of that time and nothing more should be made of it. What I've been wondering if the gas, the suicide and Jim's death all concerned the same person, namely Jim. Probably a stretch, but I'll have to watch it one more time to put the pieces together.Even if my theory doesn't add up (which I'm sure it won't) the film offers a mesmerizing and (emotionally comforting) peek into a strange world long past of people and situations that most of us will never be able to experience.When you watch the film be sure to enable subtitles because the sound isn't the best quality and also some of the patients inter-mesh gibberish with logical speech, the subtitles are what really made the film for me, without them, Titicut Follies will seem like a random set of images with no character development etc. and make an otherwise great film seem bland and empty.

OK, the quality is pretty bad but it is watchable. I have been hoping to catch a bit-torrent of this film for the last two years. As of Sept 15 2006 is is up on Google Videos, just search Titicut. I can see a direct influence this film had on somebody that was involved with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Highly recommended. Like a different poster, the people that run this site feel a need for me to post 10 lines of text. I guess they like loquacious people at IMDb. Am I up to ten yet? If the people that make these absurd policies need work they would be well qualified for employment as guards and head-doctors at a mental hospital. Watch the movie Skippy and then look in a mirror. And cry, IMDb Skippy, cry.

"Titicut Follies" by Frederick Wiseman is a deeply disturbing 1967 documentary film about the mistreatment of patients at Bridgewater State Hospital in Bridgewater,Massachusetts.The film's release was banned(outside of the field of education)in the United States from 1967-1992 by a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that,since it was filmed in a hospital,it violated the patients' rights to privacy.In 1992,it was allowed to be shown on PBS.The film shows the systematic abuse and dehumanization of mentally ill patients:they are force-fed,beaten and left naked and raving in empty cells.The cinematography is grainy and the film is so real that it's certainly very difficult to watch.Give it a look,if you have a chance.7 out of 10.