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REEL 23: A BREAKDOWN AND AFTER THE MENTAL HOSPITAL, SEPT. 1 - DEC. 13, 1982

Anne Charlotte Robertson
1983
US
26 mins
Within are documented a paranoid manic nervous breakdown, a description of a mental hospitalisation, and the subsequent recovery period. Sound is of wild tape of the breakdown, and a hidden tape-recorded psychiatric session; the second soundtrack is narration from 1991. Synopsis: Introduction; paranoia about root vegetables; esoteric sign language; searching for hidden significances; crush on Tom Baker (“Doctor Who” from BBC Television); my cats Amy and Buddy; vegetarian cooking; the compost heap; my mother and her house; driving into Boston; unemployment; television hyper-vigilance; hiding inside; exorcism with tea and mirror and lamps; too much wine; my friend the painter Susan Brown; the movie The Turning Point; experiences in a mental hospital; psychiatric session recording; autumn street and garden scenes; the mental day-hospital; domestic still-lives; bingeing; self Gestalt-therapy; school; groceries; winter; my garden; a series of self-portraits.” (ACR)