Nov 09, 2003 11:52 AM
4867 Views
(Updated Dec 28, 2005 04:31 PM)
Awakenings stars Robin Williams and Robert De Niro as main lead actors. Awakenings was released a couple of years ago, somewhere around 1990.
The film is a drama based on the real personal experiences of a british-born neurologist, DR. Olivier Sacks who treats patients, just after his training in a new job.
Dr. Sayer (Robbin Williams) is a neurologist who treats patients who have the `Sleeping Sickness`. He tries to attempt a new drug (medcine) on them known as L-Dopa. He does this in the hope that it can unlock the defficiency (illness) and thenput them in a state with which they can live like normal human beings.
After many difficulties in persuading his boss, Sayer finally gets the opportunity to experiment the drug on Leonard (Robert De Niro). He awakens miraculously and he seems extremely happy for being mobilized after 30 years of being paralysed. The film, tends to start being emotional towards the middle. It shows how the Sayer guides Leonard in adjusting to the modern world (during the early 90`s). They have a sort of liking to each other.
What`s to be noticed again, is that Sayer gets permission to do it with the other patients also. And they too start recovering.
The film gets more and more serious when Leonard falls in love to the daughter of another patient.
Towards the end, the film gets sadder and sadder... because the patients start getting the side effects of the drug and they start becoming as they were before. It is really heartfelt and when you see such scenes, you nearly nearly feel heartbroken...
The saddest thing of all is that the patients get well only for one summer season, and the film give so much emphasis on what they did during that period of time; whether about their comparisons, experiences in the sleeping world or even some personal experiences in real life.
This film is rated VISA 15 for mature subject and some strong emotional scenes. By that I do not mean sex, but rather a subject is to be better handled by adults like understanding the emotions of the patients. Anyway, chances are that children and adoloescents may not be interested into watching this kind of sentimental films, because apart from Robin Williams, there is no actor within the cast of AWAKENINGS which children less than 15 of today can be fans of, anyway.
