STUFFED
The taxidermy industry is severely misunderstood, but director Erin Derham aims to change the perception of taxidermists and their under appreciated art form. Her engaging documentary is respectful to the craft that exceeds well beyond just skinning and dissecting the dead. It’s a mixture of science and art in order to recreate and give life a second chance so to speak. Spotlighting super talented taxidermists, Derham circles the globe so we can see first-hand their passion and care in continuing these animal’s stories.
More so, the precision on display is incredible, focusing on the tiniest of details until everything is exactly right. Believe it or not, there’s beauty in this business, and the education and preservation that it provides is a testament to these taxidermists’ unconditional love for nature and the countless species that inhabit it. Death is inevitable, yet the insight presented here is proof it may not always be the end.
BEDLAM
Psychiatrist turned filmmaker Kenneth Rosenberg finely examines a crisis this country faces concerning mental illness and our ignorance of it that’s gone on for far too long. Rosenberg himself is all too familiar with this as his sister suffered from mental illness, with all of the red flags as a child going unrecognized and never acknowledged. And trust me, she’s not the first and definitely not the last. Getting it’s name from London’s Bethlehem Royal Hospital – Europe’s oldest center devoted to the treatment of mental illness – this damning and startling documentary takes us to the past and present of our nation’s noxious failures when it comes to those who need help instead of handcuffs.
The subjects Rosenberg follows puts a human face on a profound problem that needs urgent solving. It’s a necessary call to action as individuals crippled by schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric diseases are sentenced to jails in replace of institutions, and then being released and thrown out on to the streets to survive. The same vicious cycle repeats itself over and over. Through politics, silence, and shame, mental illness feels like a dirty little secret, but Rosenberg, Patrisse Cullors, and many activists around the country give hope that the secret is out and must be addressed.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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