"Tag, you're it." "You're it." "No, I tagged you last." "Want to go fishing?" "There's no fish." "They're frozen." "They don't freeze." "Do they die?" "Hey, look at this car!" "Wow, isn't that neat?" "It's got to be a ford." "No, it's not a ford." "Then what is it?" "It's not a ford." "I've been in one." "Hey, Leonard, what are you doing?" "What's it look like?" "Somebody might be coming." "Keep a look out, James." "No one's coming." "My turn's next." "Uh-uh, uh-uh." "What's wrong, Leonard?" "Woman:" "Leonard, honey." "What?" "You better get dressed." "Breakfast is just about ready." "Hey." "Hi, albert." "James." "(chattering)" "Teacher:" "We're going to begin today with a history test." "Keep your eyes on your own papers and at the recess bell" "Bring your composition books up to my desk." "So, what are we going to do this afternoon?" "(doorbell rings)" "Mrs. Lowe:" "Oh, hello, boys." "Boy:" "Mrs. Lowe, can Leonard play today?" "Uh, no, I'm sorry." "How about tomorrow?" "I'm afraid he won't be well by then either." "When will he be well?" "I don't know." "Thanks for coming by." "(door closing)" "Woman:" "Good morning, Bainbridge hospital." "May I help you?" "One moment, please." "Excuse me..." "You got to ask her." "Good morning, Bainbridge hospital." "May I help you?" "Dr. Horowitz, hold the line." "Bainbridge hospital." "Can I help you?" "Dr. Franklin and Dr. Tyler  are in a board meeting." "Yes." "Uh, yes, I'm..." "I'm Dr. Malcolm Sayer." "I have an appointment." "Take a seat, please." "Bainbridge hospital." "May I help you?" "Thank you." "Bainbridge hospital." "May I help you?" "I can connect you to the cafeteria" "But then they will have to page him." "Thank you." "Bainbridge hospital." "May I help you?" "Dr. Franklin and Dr. Tyler  are in the boardroom." "When you say people do you mean living people?" "Mm-hmm." "Well, I'm here to apply for a research position  in your neurology lab." "Neurology lab?" "We have an x-ray room." "This is a chronic hospital, doctor." "The position  is for staff neurologist." "You will be working with patients, people." "A doctor doctor." "Doctor." "The carmel institute?" "Anything with patients there?" "Earthworms." "I'm sorry?" "I was to extract one decigram of myelin  from four tons of earthworms." "Really?" "I was on that project for five years." "Everyone said it couldn't  be done." "It can't." "I know that now." "I proved it." "Maybe before  at St. Thomas..." "All research?" "Oh, yes." "(softly:) Ben, we're understaffed here." "His research talents  would be wasted here, sir." "Excuse me." "But I think you're clearly looking for someone  with more of a clinical background." "As much as I need a job  there must be a hundred more applicants." "Thank you, anyway." "Dr. Sayer" "You couldn't have graduated from medical school  without some clinical experience." "You took a pulse, you took a temperature." "You did diagnosis." "Oh." "There you have it." "You do want the job" "Don't you?" "Hey, it's this way, doc." "You spend much time at chronic hospitals?" "I..." "You'd remember." "Guess not then." "Hey, christina." "You see, doc" "We got M.S., Tourette's syndrome" "Parkinson's disease." "Some we ain't even got a name for." "What are they waiting for?" "Nothing." "How will they get well?" "They're not, they're chronic." "We call this the garden." "Why?" "'Cause all we do is feed and water them." "Thanks, man." "Mr. Kean, I would like to ask you..." "I was born  in 1911 in kingsbridge, New york!" "I came here in July, 1955!" "Prior to July, 1955, I resided" "At the Brooklyn psychiatric center." "Prior to that, I was a person!" "(woman screaming)" "Gets easier." "You don't think it will, but it does." "(door closes)" "(barking)" "Oh, no, buttercup." "Oh, good." "No, go to your house." "(growls)" "Go home!" "Good." "(barking)" "(panting)" "(whimpering)" "Good morning, doctor." "I have a new arrival for you." "She was brought in late last night." "Here's her file." "(door closes)" "Hello." "I'm Dr. Sayer." "Do you know where you are?" "Can you hear me?" ""diagnosis."" ""medical insurance."" "Oh, god." "Sayer:" "Her name is Lucy Fishman." "She was found by neighbors  with her sister ... several days after her sister died." "She has no other living relatives." "They say she has always been this way ... with no response or comprehension." "And yet..." "A reflex." "If she batted it away, I might call it a reflex." "But she caught it." "It's still a reflex." "If you were right, I would agree with you." "It's as if  having lost all will of her own  in which to act" "She borrows the will of the ball." "The will of the ball?" "Excuse me." "Trying to make a good impression" "Right, doctor?" "That's it, isn't it?" "You're still settling in." "Miss costello, see that Dr. Sayer's patients  are rescheduled for tomorrow." "Yes, sir." "Borrows the will of the ball." "That's great." "Okay." "Thanks." "Let us know if she catches anything else." "I'll be fired." "I'll go back to school." "Did I forget something?" "No." "I just wanted to say to you" "I preferred your explanation" "And that I'll look after things for you... until you've settled in." "Good night, doctor." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "Hello." "Hi." "I'm Dr. Sayer." "I'm waheedah." "How are you today?" "I'm fine." "(screaming)" "Yes." "Oh, sorry." "Um, what form?" "Yes, I'll hold." "Mm-hmm." "... three, two." "Oh, thank you." "Bye." "Hello." "Contact." "Roger." "Yippie!" "We made it, orville." "We're in orbit." "Oh, goody." "Now we can try being weightless." "Let's celebrate with delicious nestle's quick." "Nothing makes chocolatey milk like quick, you know?" "That great nestle's chocolate flavor is out of this world." "Out of this world." "Hello up there." "Time to recharge with delicious nestle's quick." "~ N-e-s-t-l-e-s, Nestle's makes the very best ~" "~ Chocolate. ~" "Lucy." "Um, you're out, oh..." "Um..." "Um, could..?" "Anthony." "Anthony, could you help me..." "Move this?" "Excuse me." "Lucy, you're almost there." "Come on." "Here's the water, Lucy." "Here it is, Lucy." "The water is..." "It must be all that jell-o they give you." "Jell-o, jell-o" "Day after day." "Red jell-o, yellow jell-o." "Every day jell-o." "Woman:" "Hurry up." "You don't want to miss the laundry truck." "I forgot to tell you Mrs. Cooper passed away." "Remember her?" "She was nice." "Always a kind word." "Her dog I could have done without." "Excuse me." "Hello." "Does he ever speak to you?" "Of course not." "Not in words." "He speak to you in other ways?" "How do you mean?" "You don't have children." "No." "If you did, you would know." "This is "atypical schizophrenia."" ""atypical hysteria," this one." ""atypical nerve impairment."" ""no change since last examination."" ""no change or therapy recommended."" "That's very nice." "This one is "no change" dated 9-11-44." "Sorry." "That's 25 years." "You'd think all these atypical somethings  would amount to a typical something" "But a typical what?" "Doctor, want to go for a cup of coffee somewhere" "Or something?" "Tea?" "Oh, normally I would say yes." "I made other plans." "Right, right, right." "Well, some other time." "Oh, yes." "I'm over here." "I'm right there." "Good night." "Good night." "(playing slow melody)" ""encephalitis lethargica."" ""encephalitis lethargica."" "I'm sorry, doctor." "I thought someone left the lights on." "I found the connection." "They all survived encephalitis" "Years before they came here in the 1920s." "That's very nice." "Isn't it wonderful?" "I'll come back later." "Please." "How many have you found there?" "Five, and, uh, I believe there are more." "How are they?" "Just as you described them back then" ""insubstantial as ghosts."" "Only, I guess many of them were children then." "Yes." "Children who fell asleep." "Most died during the acute stage of the illness." "Those who survived  who awoke ... seemed fine, as though nothing had happened." "We just didn't realize  how much the infection had damaged the brain." "Years went by-- five, ten, fifteen-- before these strange neurological symptoms ... would appear" "But they did." "I began to see them in the early 1930s." "Old people brought in by their children." "Young people brought in by their parents." "They could no longer dress themselves  or feed themselves." "They could no longer speak  in most cases." "Some families went mad." "People who were normal  were now  elsewhere." "What's it like to be them?" "What are they thinking?" "They're not." "The virus didn't spare their higher faculties." "We know that for a fact?" "Yes." "Because?" "Because the alternative is unthinkable." "I'm for fixing this place up" "But what are we doing?" "I have a hunch." "Excuse me." "What's been stopping Lucy from crossing  to the fountain?" "Nothing." "Exactly." "The visual field just stops." "There's a void." "There's no pattern." "Nothing to compel her to keep going." "So we're making something." "Exactly." "All right, Lucy." "She's..." "Oh, she's looking out the..." "Where is it?" "This isn't the right issue." "This is last year's." "I'd like to know more about your son." "Certainly." "Something was wrong, they said, with his hands." "He couldn't write anymore." "He couldn't do the work." "I should take him" "Out of school, they said." "He was 11." "Slowly, he got worse." "He'd call me and I'd come in." "He'd be sitting at his desk  in a trance." "One hour, two hours." "Then he'd be okay again." "One day" "I came home from work, found him in his bed." "He kept saying, "mom, mom."" "His... his arm like this, reaching." "What do you want, Leonard?" "He never spoke again." "It was like he disappeared." "Later that year, I took him to bainbridge." "It was november 14, 1939." "He was 20 years old." "What did he do for those nine years" "He was staying in this room, Mrs. Lowe?" "He read." "He loved to read." "He read all the time." "Really?" "That's all he could do." "That's enough." "Leonard?" "All right, Leonard, we're finished." "Nothing, nothing, nothing and nothing." "Don't tell me-- It's one of your statues." "Exactly." "How did I guess that?" "Pass the salt." "But what about this?" "(chuckling)" "What do you mean this?" "It's a strobe." "You're wrong." "All of this before is the strobe." "This is me saying his name  to him." "Excuse me." "What does that mean?" "Hey!" "Sorry." "Right down the middle." "Hum it in there." "Hum it in there." "Home run." "I can catch a ball." "Hey, doc, throw me the ball." "Throw me the ball." "Throw me the ball." "I can catch a ball." "Doc!" "Hey!" "Sayer:" "Is this all of them?" "Costello:" "Yes." "Sayer:" "Bring them in with the others." "I should have given David his divorce." "I just thought he'd want to be a father to his son." "Excuse me." "The patients have all been given their morning medication." "That's good." "Dr. Sayer was hoping you'd have some free time." "Want to come with me, please?" "Beth?" "Yeah." "Sayer:" "This is one of the most beautiful arias ever written." "Watch them closely for any reactions." "( Verdi'so soave fanciulla )" ""call me Ishmael."" ""years ago..." ""never mind how long precisely" ""having little or no money in my purse and nothing particular to interest me on shore..."" "Leonard, I know you can hear me." "I want you to try and respond when I speak your name." "( Aria playing )" "It's not just any music." "It has to be the music that's right for them." "( Aria stops )" "( Big band music playing )" "It's like they only move by music that moves them." "I haven't found anything that moves bert yet." "They'll sit there like that all day if I let them." "I have to play the first card." ""L"." "Leonard." ""L"" "~ Excuse me while I kiss the sky ~" "~ Purple haze all around ~" "~ Don't know if I'm traveling up or down ~" "~ Never happy ~" "~ Or in misery ~" "~ Whatever it is ~" "~ That girl put a spell on me ~" "This is Frank." "If you could just help me get him to his feet." "There's something else that reaches him, doctor." "What?" "Human contact." "If you could just stand over there for a minute." "He can't walk without me." "If I let go of him, he'll fall." "I'm not going to let you fall." "But he'll walk with me anywhere." "It's like the ball" "Only it's my will he's borrowing." "The will of another human being." "You begin by moving the pointer to "L" for Leonard." "Now, when I sense you begin to move the pointer" "I'll stop and you take over." "Do you understand?" "All right, I'm beginning." "Very good." "Um, no." "Maybe I didn't make myself clear." "My fault." "I, uh..." "Um..." ""I."" "Oh, good, good." "Now the "e."" ""k"." "(whispering:) Dyslexia." ""e."" "Good, good." ""s."" ""p."" "You're spelling something else." ""His gaze from staring through the bars has grown so weary" ""that it can take in nothing more." ""for him, it is as though there were a thousand bars" ""and behind the thousand bars, no world" ""as he paces in cramped circles, over and over" ""his powerful strides are like a ritual dance around a center" ""where a great will stands paralyzed." ""at times, the curtains of the eye lift without a sound" ""and a shape enters" ""slips through the tightened silence of the shoulders  reaches the heart and dies."" "Have you heard of a drug called L-Dopa?" "What?" "It's a synthetic dopamine." "Oh, yes, I did." "For parkinson's patients." "Why?" "Nothing." "Man on megaphone:" "Sign the petition now." "Thousands of young men are dying every day." "Help us get out of this war." "Sign up now." "Man:" "100 years would have to pass before modern neuropathology ... would even allow us to actually locate the damage ... in the parkinsonian brain." "Yes." "With our development of the drug L-Dopa" "We can for the first time  promise the parkinsonian patient a more normal life." "By administering L-D..." "Thank you." "Yes, um, I'm very curious about this drug" "And I wonder if you've come across anyone who might have..." "Excuse me." "Doctor..?" "Sayer." "I'm curious if you've come across  any patients with encephalitis." "After I'm through Dr. Sayer" "If you wouldn't mind." "Excuse me." "Well, as I was saying  by administering L-Dopa..." "Do you think a simple parkinsonian tremor  taken to its furthest extreme ... would appear as no tremor at all?" "Are you talking to me?" "Oh, yes." "Imagine that you accelerated  a simple parkinsonian hand tremor ... to the point of immobility." "Suppose there's a patient  with all the parkinsonian compulsions accelerated" "The hand tremor, the head bobbing, ticking" "Quickening of speech" "Might they not" "All cave in on themselves  and, in effect, turn a person into stone?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "Well, do you think L-Dopa  would help the situation?" "Dr. Sayer" "Right?" "I'm just a chemist, doctor." "You're the physician." "I'll leave it to you to do the damage." "Freud believed in miracles  prescribing cocaine like it was candy." "We believed in the miracle of cortisone until our patients went psychotic on it." "Now it's L-Dopa?" "With all due respect" "I think it's rather too soon to say that." "With all due respect" "I think it's rather way too soon to say that." "Let the chemist do the damage, doctor." "But I..." "Dr. Kaufman?" "Yeah." "Did you read this case?" ""new drug lets shaking palsy patients eat jell-o."" "Yes, I read them, doctor." "I read them all-- dutifully, soberly." "All 30 cases had parkinson's." "Mild parkinson's." "Your parkies, doctor" "If that's what they are-- haven't moved in decades." "Perhaps" "You should look at it again, sir." "You know better than to make a leap like that." "You want there to be a connection." "That doesn't mean there is one." "What I believe-- what I know-- ... is these people are alive inside." "How do you know that, doctor?" "Because they catch tennis balls?" "I know it." "How many did you think I'd let you put on it?" "All of them." "Some." "One." "One." "With the family's consent  signed." "Leonard has Parkinson's disease?" "No." "Um, well, his symptoms are like parkinson's" "But, then again, they're not." "Then what will this medicine do for him?" "I don't know what it will do for him, if anything at all." "What do you think it will do?" "I'm not sure" "Because it was designed for a totally different disorder." "What do you hope it will do?" "I hope it will bring him back from wherever he is." "To what?" "To the world." "What's there here for him after all these years?" "You." "You're here." "All of it." "Please." "With 200 milligrams he showed no response." "Maybe the acid in the juice neutralized it." "Maybe he needs more." "Maybe he needs less." "I'll try it in milk." "500 milligrams." "I'll call" "If there's any change." "Yes." "Thank you." "(snoring)" "Night, sarah." "Good night." "(snoring)" "It's..." "Quiet." "It's late." "Everyone's asleep." "I'm not asleep." "No, you're awake." "May I?" "Me." "(cars honking)" "Leonard." "There's someone here to see you." "Ma." "Ma." "Mom." "Oh, my baby." "Oh..." "My name is Eleanor." "Eleanor." "It's a pleasure to meet you." "It's a pleasure to meet you." "Ladies?" "Ladies?" "Now what did I do?" "Oh, my goodness." "How do you do, sir?" "My name is Margaret." "Margaret." "Beth." "Beth." "Anthony." "Anthony, how are you?" "Great, man." "How are you?" "Great too." "(laughing:) All right, man." "Did you meet him?" "Don't he look good?" "Yeah." "Mrs. Lowe:" "Don't eat so fast." "Margaret:" "He's doing fine." "Anthony:" "He's starving." "I couldn't deal with losing 30 years of my life." "I can't even imagine it." "Potatoes?" "He does realize it, doesn't he?" "Leonard, if you could turn this way please." "This is a camera called a Polaroid." "Thank you." "It takes a picture in less than a minute." "Amazing." "Now, if we could try this." "Splendid." "That's wonderful." "I'd like you to walk now  to the end of the room." "Ready?" "Go." "Very good." "Very good." "And back now." "That was very quick." "Let me get some more film." "You have to at least lay down." "You need the rest." "I'm afraid to close my eyes." "If I close my eyes, I'll..." "You will sleep." "And when you wake up in the morning" "It will be the next morning." "I promise." "~ Baby's boat ~" "~ A silver moon ~" "~ Sailing in the sky ~" "~ Baby's fishing for a dream ~" "~ Fishing near and far ~" "~ Sail, baby, sail" "~ Out upon that sea ~" "~ Only don't forget to sail back again to me ~" "~ Baby's fishing for a dream ~" "~ Fishing near and far ~" "~ His line a silver moonbeam is ~" "~His fate a silver star~" "~Sail, baby, sail~" "~Out upon that sea~" "~Only don't forget to sail back again to me~" "~Baby's boat~" "~The silver moon~" "~Sailing in the sky~" "~Baby's fishing for a dream~" "~Fishing near and far~" "~Sail, baby, sail~" "~Out upon that sea~" "~ Only don't forget to sail back again to me.~" "(classical music playing on car radio)" "What a wonderful place the Bronx has become." "That's my school." "Really?" "Is that classical?" "You can pick any type of music you want." "("time of the season" by the Zombies)" "~ It's the time... ~" "What's that?" "Rock and roll." "Yeah?" "Eh... ~ ...when love runs high ~" "~ In this time give it to me easy ~" "~ And let me try with pleasured hands ~" "~ To take you in the sun to promised lands ~" "~ To show you everyone ~" "~ It's the time of the season for loving ~" "Okay, boy, go get it." "~ What's your name?" "~" "~ What's your name?" "~" "~ Who's your daddy?" "~" "~ Who's your daddy?" "~" "~ Is he rich like me?" "~" "~ Has he taken ~" "~ Has he taken ~" "~ Any time ~" "~ Any time ~" "~ To show you what you need to live?" "~" "~ Tell it to me slowly ~" "~ Tell you why ~" "~ I really want to know ~" "~ It's the time of the season for loving ~" "~ What's your name..?" "~" "Come on in." "Come on in." "No, come back now." "There's something that happened while you've been away." "It's called pollution." "Leonard, that's not wading, that's swimming." "Come on, Leonard." "Leonard, I don't know" "If the hospital is covered for this." "Oh..." "Leonard." "Come on!" "No, no..." "Come on in." "~ ...it's the time of the season for loving. ~" "Leonard, the tide's Coming in." "(whistling)" "That's the periodic table of elements." "I can date my introduction to science by that." "It's wonderful really." "It's, uh..." "It's the universe at its essence." "You see, you have your alkaline metals" "You have your halogens, your inert gases." "Every element has its place in that order." "You can't change that." "They're secure, no matter what." "You're not married?" "Me?" "No." "I'm not very good with people." "I, um..." "I never have been, Leonard." "I like them." "I..." "I wish I could say" "I had more than a rudimentary understanding of them." "Maybe if they were less unpredictable." "Eleanor would disagree with you." "Eleanor?" "Miss Costello." "Oh, of course." "She's spoken to you about me?" "What did she say?" "That you are a kind man." "That you care very much for people." "I would like to put the rest of the group on the drug." "I realize this may be expensive." "Do you know how much money you're talking about?" "Yes, I talked to Ray." "I have an estimate." "Um, the pharmacist says to put all the others" "On the same dosage as Mr. Lowe." "It would be 12,000." "How much?" "$12,000." "A month?" "I can't go before the board with that." "I was thinking of speaking directly to the patrons." "The few patrons this hospital has... already give what they can." "We'll have to convince them... to give more." "Perhaps if they see Mr. Lowe..." "You overestimate the effect Mr. Lowe has on people." "We're talking about money." "There was extreme rigidity of the axial musculature." "This is a gross impairment of the postural reflexes." "It's a brain stem type of rigidity." "A meningismus." "What's most striking is the profound facial masking" "The afferentation-- which should not be confused with apathy or catatonia." "Some things could reach him though." "The mention of his name" "Notes of a particular piece of music" "Or the touch of another human being." "But these awakenings were rare and transient... lasting only a moment." "The rest of the time, he remained as you see here ... in a metaphorical, if not physiological equivalent... of sleep or even death." "This was his condition" "When we first found him in a remote bay of his hospital" "And the quality of his life for the last 30 years." "Now?" "Sayer:" "Whenever you're ready." "My name is Leonard Lowe." "It has been explained to me that I have been away... for quite some time." "I'm back." "Okay, here we go." "Take her away." "All right." "Thank you very much." "Sure." "(snoring)" "Dr. Sayer?" "What is it?" "It's a fucking miracle." "Where are my glasses?" "They're on your face." "Thank you." "Beth, close the door." "I'm talking." "Light." "I'll stand up." "Hello?" "At last." "Where is this?" "Man:" "... but nobody." "I'm walking." "Ben?" "Who are you?" "Thank you for coming." "Things are a little different today." "Miriam..." "Come on, Miriam." "Sayer:" "Miriam." "Come on, Miriam." "(speaking Italian)" "Lucy?" "I..." "I had the strangest dream." "I have to take your blood pressure." "I've been sitting for 25 years." "You missed your chance." "Margaret:" "Are you okay?" "I need some makeup." "Okay, I think we can take care of that." "And I need some dye for my hair." "Black." "Black?" "Rose, are you sure?" "Yes, it's always been black." "Dr. Sayer, something about fruit trees." "Prune the fruit trees." "I will." "Herzliche bedanken." "I want a steak, Rare" "Mashed potatoes and gravy, string beans." "I was aware of things, but nothing meant anything." "It was no connection to me." "There was a war or two..." "This morning I went to the bathroom all by myself." "Do it, do it, Do it!" "I think I liked them better the other way." "Oh, where did he go?" "Rolando, can you speak to me?" "It's Miss Costello." "Do you understand me?" "Lucy?" "What year is it?" "What year is it?" "It's '26, silly." "Beth:" "Miriam!" "Miriam!" "Come on, Miriam, be a sport." "Miriam:" "Don't touch!" "Don't touch!" "Miriam, don't!" "I'm getting tired of this." "Come on, Miriam." "Woman:" ""like crowds storming the bastille" ""the mighty mets stormed their locker room" ""shortly after 9:00 on their night to remember" ""and touched off one of the loudest, wildest" ""wettest victory celebrations in baseball history." ""released from bondage and ridicule" ""after seven destitute seasons" "They raised the... "" "Lolly, lolly, lolly" "Lolly, lolly, lolly..." "Lolly, lolly, lolly..." "Sydney." "Hi, sydney." "Hi." "Are we going to the same place?" "Well, actually, I don't know." "Stay together, Stay together." "Bring them two back there." "Everybody stay together." "Bye!" "Bye!" "Here." "Bring Leonard back." "Will you get Leonard?" "It's all right." "Anthony:" "Hey, Leonard!" "Hey, hey, come on, Come on." "Everyone, please stay with the group here." "Hurry up!" "Come on, now." "Stay together." "Bon giorno, Signorina." "I want to ask you how my father's doing." "Ma, maybe we shouldn't go." "No, I want to go." "I'll take the stairs." "I'll meet you there." "It's crowded." "Go another time." "Sayer:" "You can't be there or the door won't close." "Bert, stop jumping!" "Sydney's going." "He's a patient, mom." "He's not the same kind of patient." "Yeah, but he's still a patient, mom." "You're not." "I'm your mother." "Are there any other mothers going?" "Wait a minute." "Now, what have you done to your hair?" "Yes, bert, that's a tire." "I know." "I'm not an idiot." "There's your bus." "Have fun." "You treat me like an asshole." "We'll take care of that." "Beth:" "See you, guys." "Are you ready, Leonard?" "I've decided not to go." "I'm going to stay." "Why?" "What's wrong?" "I'm okay." "I just..." "Wave." "(honking)" "Um..." "Doctor, doctor come on, already." "I'm coming, all right?" "Leonard, are you sure?" "Are you all right?" "I'm fine." "see you later." "Have a good time." "Doctor..." "I'm coming!" "Bye, your guys!" "Bye-bye." "Bert, will you sit down?" "!" "Fish sticks please." "Okay." "Okay, here you go." "Hi." "Um, meat loaf, please." "Here you go." "Thank you." "Meat loaf." "Meat loaf too." "Thank you." "There you go, okay?" "Are you following me?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "I was only kidding." "I saw you upstairs just now." "Are you visiting someone?" "Uh..." "No." "You work here." "I live here." "You're a patient?" "That's $1.80." "You don't look like a patient." "I don't?" "I've always loved carnegiea, haven't you?" "Dr. Sayer." "What is it, Anthony?" "You choose this place?" "Why?" "I always come here." "Don't get me wrong, this is a nice place" "But after the first hour, it loses something." "Anthony seems to think the group is bored." "They are." "I thought about taking them  to the opera house." "The opera?" "Well, the museum of natural history." "Oh, no, no, I don't think so." "Just a lot of dead stuffed things." "Oh, well, uh..." "where else is there?" "Ask them." "(big-band music playing)" "Is it legal again?" "Yes, for some time." "Ladies, what can I get you?" "Well, a Rob Roy on the rocks." "Can you make that a virgin Rob Roy?" "I work the night shifts at this diner" "So sometimes before work I'll come see my father." "He used to go to all the games" "So I like to read him the sports pages." "I don't even know" "If he knows I visit him or not." "My mother doesn't think so." "But you do." "Well, sometimes I think I see something." "You know, I think I see a change" "And for a moment, I see him like he was" "You know, before the stroke" "And then it's gone." "I don't even know if I saw anything." "Does that make any sense?" "Yes, yes." "Okay, my troop  back to the ward." "Come on, Debbie." "Bill, Dion." "Come on." "So, why are you here?" "I receive medication." "For what?" "Without it, I'm sort of like your father." "But I'm okay now." "Oh." "That's good." "(big-band music playing)" "~ You made me love you ~" "~ I didn't want to do it ~" "~ I didn't want to do it ~" "~ You made me love you ~" "~ And all the time you knew it ~" "~ I guess you always knew it ~" "~ You make me happy ~" "~ And sometimes You make me sad ~" "~ There were times, dear, You made me, oh, so glad ~" "~ You made me sigh for ~" "~ I didn't want to tell you ~" "~ I didn't want to tell you ~" "~ I want some love ~" "~ That's true, yes, I do, indeed I do ~" "~ Give me, give me, give me ~" "~ What I cry for ~" "~ You know you got the frantic kisses that I'd die for ~" "~ You know you made me love you. ~" "Thank you, rose." "Aah!" "And I was so sure" "He was over-easy with bacon, wheat toast, and black coffee" "That I brought his food before he ordered." "You know what he says?" ""you forgot the tomato."" "Did you bring it?" "No, we were out of them." "That's why I didn't get it in the first place." "Nurse:" "Visiting hours are from 3:00 to 6:00" "Every day." "Bainbridge hospital." "It was really nice talking to you, Leonard." "It was nice talking to you too." "Bye-bye." "Bye." "Paula?" "Yeah?" "He knows." "Your father." "He knows you visit him." "See you." "Doctor, these are my friends." "Isn't he the cat's meow?" "Come here, I want to show you the sun roof." "(playing romantic melody)" "Miriam..." "I don't know how to tell you this" "So I'm just going to say it." "Your husband..." "He was granted a divorce from you in 1953." "Thank god." "Oh, look at that." "Pontiac firebird 400 engine." "Firebird." "Now, that's a car." "Lucy, may I have your hand?" "Take me away from this place." "Wrong." "It's right here." "Guess I lose." "I guess your luck is changing." "Very nice, very nice." "How's it going?" "How's it going?" "Yeah, how do you feel?" "Well, my parents are dead." "My wife is in an institution." "My son has disappeared out west somewhere." "I feel old and I feel swindled." "That's how I feel." "I stopped by the hobby shop." "I got some more pencils" "And I got this." "A small t-square." "Oh, I can use that." "Yeah." "Oh, good." "Okay." "Hi, Leonard." "Hi." "That's really nice." "I'll be right back." "Leonard." "He never talked about girls before." "Certainly never had anything to do with them." "It's a bit ridiculous, all this girl business." "Don't you think?" "He's a grown man, Mrs. Lowe." "You know what he said to me?" "I should take a vacation." "I should go away and relax." "I'm sure he meant you deserve a vacation." "I can't leave him alone in this place." "He'd die without me." "Girls!" "(ringing)" "Hello." "Leonard:" "Hello." "Dr. Sayer?" "Dr. Sayer, I've got to talk to you." "Leonard?" "Yes." "I think it's important... that some things were said." "I just got to talk to you." "What kind of things?" "Things that matter." "Things that have happened to me." "Things I've come to understand." "Things, things." "Where are you?" "Your office." "It's very late." "Is it?" "Leonard, you stay there." "I'll be right over." "Good." "(hangs ups)" "(dial tone)" "Leonard?" "Leonard." "Dr. Sayer, sit down." "Why?" "What's wrong?" "We've got to tell everybody." "We've got to remind them how good it is." "How good what is, Leonard?" "Read the newspaper." "What's it say?" "All bad." "People have forgotten  what life is all about, what it is to be alive." "They need to be reminded" "What they have and what they can lose." "What I feel is" "The joy of life" "The gift of life, the freedom of life" "The wonderment of life." "He kept saying" "People don't appreciate the simple things" "Work, play, friendship, family." "He was so excited" "He talked till 5:00 in the morning." "I don't know whether this is liberation, mania..." "Or love." "Yes, right." "He's absolutely right." "We don't really know how to live." "But 5:00 in the morning..." "Waheedah, how are you?" "I'm fine." "Very good." "(thunder)" "Mr. Lowe?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "(thunder rumbles)" "What is it you want, Mr. Lowe?" "The simplest thing." "And it is?" "To have the choice to go for a walk if I want to like any normal person." "You are free to go for a walk." "I am?" "Alone?" "What difference would that make?" "Look, I'm not a criminal." "I've committed no crime." "I'm not a danger to myself or to others" "Yet I'm still not allowed to go for a walk  on my own." "You didn't wake a thing, you woke a person." "I am a person." "Mr. Lowe, are you at all aware  of the unconscious hostility you're exhibiting toward us right know?" "How could I be aware of it if it's unconscious?" "Nora, please." "I'm curious." "What would you do if you went out?" "I'd go for a walk." "I'd look at things." "I'd talk to people." "I would decide if I want to go in this direction or that direction... or straight ahead." "I would do all the things you take for granted." "And that's it?" "That's it." "All right, then" "We'll certainly take this into consideration" "And we'll let you know." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Dr. Sayer..." "Are you all right?" "Yeah, it was nothing." "What did they say?" "They said there was insufficient data at this time  that continued observation  was necessary for a complete diagnosis." "They said it's a different world out there." "You may not be prepared for it" "And they couldn't be held responsible." "They said no." "What did you say?" "They don't have to listen to me, Leonard." "Did you agree with them?" "Yes." "Leonard, I don't think we're out of the woods yet." "I'm not sure that this..." "is nothing." "It's an experimental drug" "And we need time to evaluate things..." "Bye." "Leonard?" "Leonard?" "Leonard?" "Where are you going?" "For a walk." "Leonard?" "Leonard." "This is Dr. Sayer." "So where are you going?" "I'm going outside." "No, not today." "No patients allowed beyond here." "No, I'm sorry." "Don't make it hard on yourself." "I got him." "I just want to go for a walk!" "He's not a mental patient." "Let him go." "Please, he's not violent." "He's not violent." "Will you let go of him!" "Wait!" "Stop, please!" "Let go of him!" "I don't understand it." "He was never any trouble before." "He was quiet" "And polite and respectful." "He never demanded anything." "He was never disobedient." "Because he was catatonic, Mrs. Lowe." "I'm speaking of when he was a boy." "I'm sorry." "I don't know who that is up there." "I don't think he knows." "You've turned Leonard into something he's not." "It's not us that's defective, it's them!" "We're not in crisis, they are!" "They are!" "We have been through the worst and survived." "They haven't." "They fear it!" "Because they know!" "Man:" "They know!" "They know!" "They know!" "They know!" "Because we..." "We remind them..." "We remind them that there is a problem..." "That there is a problem  that they don't have an answer to." "And they'll never be healers  until they realize this" "Until they start to see the problem" "Until they start to admit that there is a problem and that the problem isn't us." "We're not the problem." "It's them!" "They're the problem!" "(yelling)" "They're the..." "Problem." "They're the problem!" "(patients yelling)" "They're the problem!" "He's lived for 30 years without releasing anger." "Kaufman:" "As have the others." "I think his behavior is more natural than the others." "His tics and paranoia are signs of normal behavior?" "Because he's in that place." "Is that it?" "Yes." "We wake him up" "And then lock him in a cage." "That's not paranoia, that's a fact." "The fact is I've got 20 psychotics refusing to eat." "They have no idea why they're refusing to eat." "How long should I let that go on?" "He knows why." "He wants out." "Mr. Lowe is not the messiah of ward five." "He wasn't resurrected." "He was administered a drug" "A drug that has fallen short  of its somewhat miraculous reputation." "The others are fine." "They show no signs..." "He's been on it longer, doctor." "I sympathize with him." "I've tried to accommodate him" "But I will not let him endanger the health" "Of the rest of the patients in this hospital." "Sayer:" "Wait for me out there." "Okay." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Man:" "We can't allow it." "Leonard:" "He's all right." "He's all right." "How are you today?" "I'm all right." "How are you?" "Never better." "What's the purpose of these gentlemen?" "These gentlemen help protect me." "I wish I didn't need them." "Someone's trying to hurt you?" "Who?" "Who?" "That's the thing, isn't it-- who?" "One never knows." "Someone I least expect, I expect." "Look at history." "Leonard, every patient on this ward" "Thinks there's a plot against him." "They're mistaken." "They're crazy." "(laughing)" "You've gotten worse." "The drug's not working." "All these things you're experiencing  are the side effects of that" "And they're making you behave this way." "I have things to do." "Leonard..." "Leonard, please, look at yourself." "No, look at yourself." "I have a sickness." "Sickness took me out of the world and I fought to come back." "I fought for 30 years." "30 years, and I'm still fighting." "But you..." "You have no excuse." "You have no excuse!" "You're just a scared and lonely man with nothing!" "No life, nothing!" "You're the one that's asleep." "Your medicine could be taken away." "They can do that." "You could wake up in the morning and it won't be there." "Leonard..." "Get away from me!" "(patients giggling)" "I'm all right." "Thank you." "I just fell." "I'm fine." "Sayer?" "Help me." "Can you walk?" "I won't let them take the medicine away, Leonard." "We'll work together with it." "We're taking an unnecessary risk." "He's had a reaction to the drug." "He has acquired some tics" "But he's not as concerned with his appearance  as the effect on the other patients." "We'll be working with his dosage." "He knows and is prepared for effects" "But he wants the others prepared  as well." "Help me with this." "Margaret:" "Yes, doctor." "Hey, lenny." "Welcome back." "Thanks." "How are you doing, Leonard?" "You all right?" "Gee, it's swell to see you, Leonard." "It's quiet around here." "'cause we're waiting for you." "~ Just a song at twilight ~" "~ And the lights are low ~" "You're looking good, Len." "You're looking better every day." "~ ..." "Softly come and go ~" "What if he's just had enough of it?" "What if it's just a matter of time" "For all of us?" "There's no medical reason" "To think that what's happening to Leonard  will happen to you." "Why not?" "Well, you're all individuals" "And you're well..." "Aren't you?" "~ ..." "Comes love's old sweet song. ~" "That was lovely, Lucy." "I learned that song a long, long time ago." "I know what year it is." "I just can't imagine being older than 22." "I've no experience at it." "I know it's not 1926." "I just need it to be." "How are you?" "Never better." "How are the others?" "Are they talking about me?" "They're scared." "Well, they should be." "Can you stop this?" "I'm not sure, but I'm trying." "Don't give up on me." "I won't." "425." "425?" "Okay." "Here we go, 425." "I got a postcard." "Leonard:" "I'm all right" "And then everything stops." "I got a postcard from my son." "There's no warning." "It's like a light switch going off." "It happens that fast." "Something has to happen to bring me back" "A sound or a touch, and then I can move again." "I'm okay again." "Thanks." "It's not that it feels bad." "It's nothing." "I feel nothing." "It's like I'm dead." "Nothing." "Nothing." "It gets to be like I'm not a person anymore just a collection of tics." "Not that I mind them necessarily." "Sometimes they make life kind of interesting." "Though I'm not sure who's in control, me or them" "What I do mind is knowing that they shouldn't be there." "Up to five." "Okay, five, five." "Just..." "Just a little more." "Okay." "It feels good when I'm working." "I feel good here." "The book list is coming along well." "I'd love to see it." "It's here somewhere." "That's all right." "Some other time." "Leonard?" "Leonard?" "What's happening?" "You're having" "An oculogyric crisis." "Get the camera!" "Get the camera." "(incoherent babbling)" "I can't do this, Leonard." "I'm turning the camera off." "No, no, no." "Watch, watch, watch, watch, watch." "Learn, learn, learn, learn" "Learn, learn, learn." "Learn from me." "Learn." "625." "All right, 625." "675." "Just... 675?" "Okay." "I can't read anymore." "I can't keep my eyes in one place." "I keep going back to the beginning..." "Beginning, beginning, beginning..." "I've let everybody down." "No." "I let you down." "No, you have not." "I have!" "I'm grotesque." "I won't listen  to you talk like this." "I'm grotesque." "I am." "Look at me and tell me I'm not." "You're not." "This isn't me, this isn't me!" "When my son was born healthy, I never asked why." "Why was I so lucky?" "What did I do to deserve this perfect child" "This perfect life?" "But when he got sick" "You can bet I asked why." "I demanded to know why." "Why was this happening?" "There was nothing I could do about it." "No one I could go to and say, "stop this." "Please, stop this."" "Can't you see my son is in pain?"" "My son is in pain." "Please, stop this." "He's fighting, Mrs. Lowe." "He's losing." "Uh..." "I worked." "Uh-huh." "had friends over  went dancing." "That's about it-- not much." "Well, that's great." "You know, I've never done any of those things." "You will." "They'll never let me out of this place and, uh... and they shouldn't." "I think I'm still not well" "As you can... see." "I mean, I feel well when I see you..." "And, uh..." "I..." "I..." "I wo-wo-won't see you anymore." "I just want to say good-bye." "(soft piano music)" "Look." "Now?" "Sayer:" "Whenever you're ready." "My name is Leonard Lowe." "It has been explained to me" "That I have been away for quite some time." "I'm back." "Sayer:" "What's it like to be back?" "I thought it was a dream at first." "Sayer:" "What made you realize it wasn't a dream?" "When I spoke and you understood me." "(door opening)" "You told him I was a kind man." "How kind is it to give life" "Only to take it away again?" "Costello:" "It's given and taken away from all of us." "Why doesn't that comfort me?" "Because you are a kind man." "(no dialogue)" "Because he's your friend." "Sayer:" "The summer was extraordinary." "It was a season of rebirth and innocence." "A miracle for 15 patients" "And for us, their caretakers." "But now we have to adjust ... to the realities of miracles." "We can hide behind  the veil of science and say it was the drug that failed." "Or that the illness itself had returned .... or that the patients were unable to cope  with losing decades of their lives." "But the reality is... we don't know what went wrong  anymore than we know what went right." "What we do know  is as the chemical window closed another awakening took place  that the human spirit  is more powerful than any drug" "And that is what needs to be nourished... with work, play, friendship, family." "These are the things that matter." "This is what we had forgotten." "The simplest things." "Well..." "Good night." "Good night." "Eleanor?" "Yes?" "Um..." "Eleanor..." "Um..." "What's wrong?" "I was wondering..." "What are you doing tonight?" "If you have other plans, I..." "No, I..." "You have no plans?" "No, I have no, uh..." "I was wondering" "If you..." "We..." "Well, you and I could, um..." "If we could, um..." "Go for a cup of coffee?" "Yes." "I'd love to." "My car's over here." "What do you say we just walk?" "Okay." "Let's begin."