Nise the Heart of Madness is a Brazilian film directed by Roberto Berliner and starring the actress Glória Pires.

Synopsis of the movie Nise da Silveira

According to the official synopsis of the film, the story takes place in the 1950's. A psychiatrist named Nise da Silveira (Glória Pires) who is against conventional schizophrenia treatments of that time is isolated by the other doctors.

Then she decides to take over the occupational therapy department, and Nice begins a new way of dealing with the patients, through love and art.

Summary of Nise the Heart of Madness

The film "Nise: The Heart of Madness" tells the story of the psychiatrist from Alagoas, Brazil, Nise da Silveira, who brought innovations in the treatment offered to people with mental problems, and especially to those with schizophrenia:

• the art;
• the affection;
• the interaction with animals.

All these forms were intended to replace more aggressive methods comparable to torture.

In the plot, we have the character Nise da Silveira (Glória Pires) who was born in Alagoas, on February 5th, 1905. She graduated from medical school in Bahia in 1926, where she was the only woman in a class of a little over 150 students.

Beginning of the film

The story of the film begins to be told in the year 1944 and not only Nise appears, but also her patients. One of the first scenes of the feature is the main character in front of the Pedro II National Psychiatric Center, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

However, she finds it quite difficult to enter the place, because they take a long time to open the gate. Inside, Nise sees a place where the patients are in subhuman conditions, after all, the place is unsanitary and people are locked up like animals. One of the ideas that comes to mind is that there is no right to the dignity of the human person.

The patients had the most diverse clinical pictures, yet they received the same kind of treatment. Moreover, they were treated with a lot of hostility. These are the main impressions that psychiatry has encountered.

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Within the medical staff, Nise noticed the machismo very present, for she is the only woman to occupy the auditorium in a lecture on a technique of inducing convulsion through electricity. In fact, it is during this presentation, in which everyone is happy with the technique, that Nise is quite perplexed and states that she does not believe in this treatment.

Even in such a hostile environment for new therapies, she does not give up on contributing to the improvement of the sector. One of the places she is inspired by is the Occupational Therapy Sector of the Pedro II Psychiatric Center. Like the other places, Nise encounters several problems such as the precarious physical structure of the facilities.

However, she decides to put into practice, on her own, the most alternative and humane treatment techniques.

Start of your work

Nise directed this section from 1946 to 1974, and it was in this environment that she was able to put into practice more humane techniques. She refuted old psychiatric theories and believed that the unconscious of schizophrenics could be accessed through drawings, paintings and modeling.

Because of this, she began to use art as a form of treatment, and her interventions allowed the language of these patients to be revealed through strokes and modeling.

The first time Nise gathers the patients together, several things happen that get out of her control, since they were not used to living in a community. One of the characters that portrays this is Lucio (Roney Villela). He lived quite isolated, since he was considered "an animal".

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The psychiatrist always puts the patients' welfare first, especially the most dangerous ones. With this sensibility, she manages to rescue their humanity, even after so much suffering. Together with her colleagues, Nise set up a small art workshop to help her communicate with her patients.

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In fact, it is in the paintings that the sick denounced the horrors they suffered in hospitals Generally, there was a lot of geometry present in these images, and because of this, Nise begins to correspond by letters with Carl Jung, telling him about these geometric representations.

In response, the Swiss psychotherapist said that the circles were mandalas, which explains the patients' clinical picture.

Beyond Art

Another point made in the film is that the psychiatrist paid attention to other cultural manifestations, such as outings and festivities. The intention was for everyone to have the opportunity to socialize in a group.

In addition, Nise realized that many patients don't like to interact with other people, yet they interact a lot with animals. Because of this, she helps them adopt a pet.

Nise the Heart of Madness: Other Difficulties

Nise encountered several difficulties, which are presented in the film, such as resistance from the hospital administration, since the director does not accept that the patients live with the animals and claims that there are chances of disease transmission.

One day, all the animals are found dead because of a poison, and many patients revolt. Lúcio is very upset that his condition was already stable, which proves that Nise's treatment was working. With the death of his pet, he has a new outburst and attacks nurse Lima (Augusto Madeira).

Because of this event, the psychiatrist decides to close the Occupational Therapy Sector of the Pedro II Psychiatric Center. In addition, she takes her patients' works to an exhibition in a large art gallery.

Consequences of Nise's work

The work developed by Nise da Silveira is a major watershed in psychiatric services in Brazil. After all, from the 1970s on, there was more debate about mental health, due to the Psychiatric Reform movement. Because of this, the psychiatrist is very influential, as she brought another look at madness through art.

Due to this scenario brought about by it, there were several achievements such as the closing of psychiatric hospitals and the installation of substitutive services. Thus, for example, were created:

• Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS);
• Therapeutic Residences;
• Living Together Centers.

Critical reception and awards for Nise the Heart of Madness

O film about Nise da Silveira According to Rotten Tomatoes, a website where people give their opinions about cinema and television, Nise received positive reviews with an 86% rating.

All this success is due to Glória Pires' amazing performance, as well as the touching way the film deals with the reality of these patients. Finally, the film shows how Nise brought hope and humanity into the lives of people who were previously so badly treated.

Final thoughts on Nise the Heart of Madness

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