Greetings, friends and colleagues. Welcome to CINESANITY #3.04.
You are invited to take a break from the holidays and join us for our next
movie, "Benny & Joon", this coming Monday, 27 December 2010.
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CINESANITY offers a FREE monthly movie on the Fourth Monday of each month,
at 7:00PM at Micah House, 1039 Main Street at Magnus Avenue. Screenings are
open to the general public. Persons concerned with mental illness or
addiction and in some way involved in the recovery process - persons with
lived experience, family members, service providers, and the community -
will find these events interesting. Free popcorn, snacks and drinks are
provided. A discussion follows the screening and there is an opportunity for
people to stay and visit if they wish.
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With the holiday season almost upon us, I first want to wish each of you a
peaceful, happy, even joyous, holiday. Even as I write these words though I
recognize that not everyone will feel like celebrating. Many who struggle
with mental illnesses and addictions will be alone, possibly far from family
or friends. Others will be mourning the loss of a friend or loved one or
dealing with illness or losing their jobs or experiencing some other trial
or tribulation. Wherever we find ourselves in the coming days, whatever we
are doing, let's remember to find love and compassion for all those who are
struggling. This is a season for peace and love. It is for us to make it
manifest.
We continue to examine the nature of relationships with our next
presentation of "Benny & Joon", a 1993 romantic comedy about how two
eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson),
find each other and fall in love. The film is perhaps best known for Depp's
humorous physical comedy routines (which are based on silent film comics
Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin) and for popularizing the song "I'm Gonna
Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers. The film was shot entirely on location
in Spokane, Washington.
In a small town, an auto mechanic named Benny is devoted to taking care of
his mentally ill sister, Joon, a talented artist who nevertheless can barely
function alone in the real world due to the schizophrenia she lives with.
This relatively stable situation is shaken up when Benny is obliged in a
poker game with some unusual stakes to welcome another player's relative,
Sam, to his home for a few days. When Sam arrives, he quickly makes an
impression with his quietly eccentric ways. Sam and Joon find themselves
drawn to each other. When Benny finds out, a rift is created between the
siblings as they struggle to accept that their relationship is profoundly
changing with the presence of this odd newcomer.
Whenever I mention this film in conversation, someone is bound to say
something like, "Oh, that's my favourite movie!" or "That's a wonderful
film." In selecting a movie to screen during the holidays, I hoped to find
something both profound and light-hearted. "Benny and Joon" fits the bill.
The movie offers a fairly accurate portrait of a life with schizophrenia
(Masterson is masterful.) as well as a look at the nature of care-giving
relationships. It also shows the transformative and healing power of
positive and accepting relationships, often through individuals who come
into our lives by a seeming fluke. The movie does leave us with the
impression that love can conquer all, even schizophrenia; an unrealistic if
romantic idea. Still, though it may not cure the illness, it certainly
serves to greatly improve one's quality of life. On a cold winter day, this
film will make you feel warm inside.
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Your support is greatly appreciated. If you have the opportunity and the
place, please print the poster and put it where those who might be
interested will see it. All are welcome. If you are able, please join us
this coming Monday. We do not get sick alone and we do not walk the road to
recovery alone. Join us on this road to wellness.
None of this would happen without the help of others. Thanks go to our
sponsors and supporters: Micah House, the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society,
the Canadian Mental Health Association, Manitoba Division, the Mood
Disorders Association of Manitoba, the WRHA North End/Point Douglas Chronic
Diseases Prevention Initiative, to the volunteers who help to set up events,
and to those who have expressed support and have been promoting this
program. Thank you also to my friend Henry Peters for the Cinesanity masks
logo that appears on the poster.
Wishing you peace and love for the holiday season and throughout the coming
year.
Stan
Stan Rossowski
Programming Director
CINESANITY: Movies for Mental Wellness
1039 Main Street
Winnipeg, MB R2W 3R2
T: 204 772 1037
E:
cinesanity@mts.net
"Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps
the ability to see beauty never grows old." -Franz Kafka
