The subject matter of mental health is never one easy to handle and handle well. Director Kazuhiro Soda’s documentary Mental was not only engaging and insightful, it is also a personal film for Soda to make.
[HT to Mad Dog]
The following time codes and descriptions will give you a quick way to revisit a topic that you want to see again.
Time Codes for Part 1
0:00 Did Soda expect “Mental” to be an award-winning film and be so successful in Japan when he finished the film?
1:28 Why is the film a personal film for Soda and him sharing his personal experience with mental illness.
2:25 People suffering from mental illness in Japan and in the modern world.
4:05 The process of getting permission to shoot in the clinic. And the patients’ reactions.
5:14 Feeling very responsible for the people’s images and futures.
5:40 Talking about the sensitive story in the documentary about a lady and her baby. Soda’s thinking process and considerations.
Time Codes for Part 2
0:00 Depicting the whole story in its fuller complexity and not in an isolated manner.
1:26 An update of the patient.
1:35 Talking about how did Soda get the permission to make the film from the doctor and the clinic? And Soda’s style of making an observational documentary.
4:00 Talking about Dr. Yamamoto. Other psychiatrists’ comments after watching the film.
4:52 Is shooting a film like “Mental” possible in North America?
7:05 Soda’s experience in writing and publishing his book “Mental Illness and Mosaic” including in-depth interview with Dr. Yamamoto and panel discussions with patients appearing in the film and them watching it.
8:50 I really think Soda has done a great service to the mental health profession and patient communities in Japan and probably around the world where they have chance to watch the film.
You can also read Soda’s blog in Japanese and sometimes English here.
Posted in Documentary, Healthcare, Healthcare Sector, InterviewByKempton, InterviewByKempton-Arts, Japan, Video, YouTube 
