Movies About PTSD

[fin]

I want to add to this thread that I just watched Reign Over Me the other day, -2 years after buying it. I managed to sit and stay with the whole film, no pausing it -nothing, and this is really pretty good for me, because I used to love films and have missed being able to concentrate and stay with them.

It is a good film starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle, it tells the story of a man with PTSD played by Sandler, who to my mind could cross right over from comedy to drama any day, although he was good in 50 First Dates - thats trauma -kind of- also isnt it? Drew Barrymore co-stars with him.

wow- I am so definitely getting a little better with some of this managing PTSD. I dont think I had really realised perhaps that I was improving some- a bit.

~fin

 

[teejaye]

I watched Bringing Out the Dead which is directed by Martin Scorcese and it was really cool. The main character is an EMT (Nicolas Cage) in the Manhattan neighborhood Hell's Kitchen in the 90's, when the EMT system was extremely disorganized and poorly run. Cage's character has PTSD from vicarious trauma as well as from losing patients. I think it's one of those movies where you might miss the subtle ways they show his mental state if you aren't tuned into how someone with PTSD experiences the world. I love it - it's one of my favorites. Definitely a Scorcese film, so don't watch it if you are easily triggered by face paced action scenes or violence (I'm very easily upset by movie violence and I made it through by myself just fine though).

This is a great thread - I typed everyone's suggestions into a spreadsheet so I can change up my Netflix que!

 

[fin]

Thankyou Teejaye, I love Scorcese so I will for sure be looking for this film next, I didn't share that I watched Kungfu Panda as my second journey back into films, but it is a good movie for affirming somethings about ourselves perhaps.

And I have yet to try Hotel Rwanda, I have had that a while also. Again I am thinking this could well be triggering for some, so

Thankyou for this and this is a good thread. OH and I wanted to ask what Netflix is, but I have a feeling it is web films perhaps...and while I would be interested I don't know that my laptop would be I think it is struggling some.

 

[her_indoors43]

god i love the movie 'Brave One' with jodie foster... i think the cameraman should get an award for his film work.....he did a brilliant job in this one scene......then to top it off jodie did a great speech in another scene as she does......

also...'.stop loss 'was another good movie......thats a military movie.......its about ptsd ...very moving too....

 

[dharmaBum]

The Mysterious Skin and The Brown Bunny- two recent"ish" independent films about characters in major crisis because of traumatic life-events in the past.

 

[Jestadud]

How about "Falling Down" staring Michael Douglas and "Unbreakable" starring Bruce Willis?

 

[fin]

Both good films Jesta, I have seen both of these and it feels like a lifetime ago now. Maybe it was - another me?

Dharma I will be looking for the two film you have suggested, thankyou


Babel is also a good film I don't think it necessarily deals with PTSD, but there are at least two characters in it that are traumatised and dealing with the fall out from it.

And Fisher King was such a good film, I cant remember now if I commented before, but in case I didn't.

 

[strugglingdad]

Asked my wife to rent "reign over me". She happened to be in a store and saw it on sale so she bought it. Anxious to watch it but also nervous. Kind of want her to watch it with me. I'm hoping it portrays something of how I feel, which I can't communicate well. She says she's open to listening but I'm not sure I want to load her up with my demons. She is a very caring sweet person and a wonderful mother. Much better than I deserve. It really bothers me that she has to go through this with me. Often think it might be better if I left so she could do better. Anyways, I'll post how it goes after I watch the movie.

 

[Blues in NYC]

Three really good films to add that center around life after Trauma and the courage survive, both for those with PTSD and the carers that live with them:

Ordinary People (several decades old)

Scent of a Woman (a couple decades old now almost!)

and the very recent film from New Zealand

Eagle vs. Shark


Just watched that latter one this Sunday. It's so very sweet. So beautiful. And so loving. I'd say more about the trauma histories in the past of one character, but I don't want to spoil how the film unfolds. It made my wife and I cry for a good twenty minutes straight afterward.

Edit: And a fourth entry in a similar vein: Goodwill Hunting. Prior to diagnosis and things coming out about my youth, my wife had noticed that I always had to watch certain scenes of both Goodwill Hunting and Scent of A Woman if they were ever on television. I guess I would get very insistent saying "no no... turn it back for a minute. I want to see that part." Didn't realize I did that always... but I guess it was my body brain seeking it out.

 

[GodSeeker]

I saw the Band of brother seris and you can see clearly the effects of war trauma. I am particularly talking about the episode when buck compton lost his friends and the following scen when easy company were wathcing a movie

 

[strugglingdad]

Well....we watched Reign over me. WOW. My personal hell doesn't begin to compare to his. No way I would keep going. Did portray alot of what I feel however. Not sure my wife grasped it as I did. We did talk some after. Difficult.....

 

[Blues in NYC]

A few more came to mind last night. Let's see if my PTSD addled memory can dig them up. :crazy:

Shine - his breakdown, over achievement and emotionally abusive father speak loads to me

Sixth Sense - I saw this just after diagnosis and man, so much of the supernatural part of the plot could be substituted for PTSD and what ails the little boy. I see ghosts too sometimes. And they still scare me.

That's all that's coming to the surface at the moment. But there were at least three others. I'll see if I can bring them back into grasp through the day. :dontknow: :smile: