Medical movies for Ryan Lim-Yip
List of films covering a range of medical-related topics for discussion in medical school tutorials. Most of these films show the perspective of people who suffer from diseases/conditions and their interactions with the medical system.
Questions for discussion: (not every question will be applicable to every film)
Questions for discussion: (not every question will be applicable to every film)
- How accurate or inaccurate is this film?
- What is it like to live as this character in a personal sense? Consider lifestyle, goals, society, emotions, etc.
- What would you do if you were their doctor?
- What does this say about the medical/pharmaceutical/psychiatric system?
- Comment on ethical issues, tough choices, social attitudes, patient-doctor conflicts.
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16 titles
- DirectorRichard GlatzerWash WestmorelandStarsJulianne MooreAlec BaldwinKristen StewartA linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.Includes Alzheimer's Disease (early onset). Protagonist is intelligent and well-educated so she finds good ways to cope, but this only delays the inevitable.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.Includes drug abuse (prescription and otherwise). Characters consume amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine and heroin. Portrayal of medical system seems to be outdated and the worst-case scenario (sadly does happen though). Legal prescription drugs can be as harmful and addictive as illegal narcotics. How to act responsibly about prescriptions? The doctors in the film acted very irresponsibly.
Can be compared with Perfect Blue in terms of social context behind illness and addiction. Perfect Blue was a direct influence on Requiem for a Dream. - DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsRalph FiennesRachel WeiszDanny HustonA widower's transcontinental quest to find answers about his wife's death leads him to explosive secrets.Includes pharmaceutical industry and drug experimentation ethics. Shows the political and economic issues surrounding drug trials. Loosely based on a true story.
Can be compared with Dallas Buyer's Club in terms of pharmaceutical industry and drug experimentation ethics. - DirectorJeff BaenaStarsAlison BrieMolly ShannonGoldeniteSarah, a socially isolated woman with a fondness for arts and crafts, horses, and supernatural crime shows finds her increasingly lucid dreams trickling into her waking life.Includes schizophrenia. Protagonist succumbs quite rapidly into lost time (temporal lobe disorder?), delusions, hallucinations and fractured sense of self. She only visits a doctor for something unrelated. Ends up involuntarily committed - those with schizophrenia don't think they have a problem and any interventions are treated as part of a conspiracy.
Can be compared with Silver Linings Playbook in terms of mental illness or with Perfect Blue or It's Such a Beautiful Day in terms of delirium and reality breakdown. - DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBradley CooperJennifer LawrenceRobert De NiroAfter a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.Includes Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. At what point does a personality disorder become a medical issue? Protagonist (Bradley Cooper's character) is manic and aggressive at times and refuses to take medication. The other character (Jennifer Lawrence's character) is impulsive and aggressive for other reasons but doesn't have interactions with legal nor medical systems.
Can be compared with Horse Girl in terms of mental illness. - DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.Includes HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical industry and drug experimentation ethics. Protagonist is refused treatment and has to smuggle unapproved medicine from Mexico. He is the type who is too proud to accept doctors' visits and advice. How to deal with this resistance? Based on a true story. Might be worth noting that the drugs mentioned in the film are actually ineffective for treating AIDS. Directly based on a true story.
Can be compared with The Constant Gardener in terms of the pharmaceutical industry and drug experimentation ethics. - DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.Includes Dissociative Identity Disorder. Lots of characters have mental illness exacerbated by modern life (stress, fame, mass media, self-image, online identity). Nobody in this film voluntarily interacts with the medical system.
Can be compared with Requiem for a Dream in terms of social context behind illness and addiction. Perfect Blue was a direct influence on Requiem for a Dream. Can also be compared with Horse Girl or It's Such a Beautiful Day in terms of reality breakdown. - DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeUma ThurmanJude LawVincent, an "In-Valid", assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. However, a week before his mission, a murder marks Vincent as a suspect.Includes genetic engineering and discrimination. Good for discussions about emerging technologies and the impact on society.
Can be compared with Never Let Me Go in terms of future biotechnology and utilitarianism. - DirectorTom ShadyacStarsRobin WilliamsDaniel LondonMonica PotterThe true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos.Includes unconventional approach to clinical practice. Has a lot of things that should and should not be done. Directly based on a true story.
Can be compared with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in terms of caring for patients. - DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Includes psychiatric system and general mental illness. Emphasis on the oppressive environment and the patients' need for respect.
Can be compared with Patch Adams in terms of caring for patients or with Girl, Interrupted in terms of psychiatric care. - DirectorJames MarshStarsEddie RedmayneFelicity JonesTom PriorStephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.Includes Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Generally about living with disabilities with a positive outlook. Directly based on a true story.
Can be compared with Million Dollar Baby in terms of coping with disability. - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.Includes tetraplegia and euthanasia. Also about living with disabilities but with a negative outlook. When is euthanasia justified?
Can be compared with The Theory of Everything in terms of coping with disability. - DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer GarnerFaced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.Includes teenage pregnancy. Touches on the abortion controversy.
- DirectorMark RomanekStarsKeira KnightleyCarey MulliganAndrew GarfieldThe lives of three friends, from their early school days into young adulthood, when the reality of the world they live in comes knocking.Includes cloning and organ harvesting. Advancements in biotechology have reduced the human body to mere physical utilitarianism. Relevant to ethics of organ transplants, cadavers, etc. and especially in the future.
Can be compared with Gattaca in terms of future biotechnology and utilitarianism. - DirectorJames MangoldStarsWinona RyderAngelina JolieClea DuVallA directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.Includes psychiatric system and general mental illness. Edmund recommended it. Shows the human side of patients. Based on a true story.
Can be compared with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in terms of psychiatric care. - DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.Also about schizophrenia, mostly hallucinations and paranoia.