Mental

2008, Kazuhiro Soda, 135 minutes

Mental is a documentary that observes the complex world of outpatient mental health clinic Chorale Okayama. When Dr. Masatomo Yamamoto, founder and director of Chorale Okayama, first worked for a mental hospital, he questioned why the doors could only be unlocked from the outside. “These locks are not for patients, but for doctors and staff,” he thought. The observation inspired him to become a pioneer in the movement to remove locks from psychiatric wards. At Chorale Okayama, he tries to support patients so that they will be able to live in society, not locked up in hospitals. He created two work programs for patients: Pastel, a milk-delivery service, and Mini-Chorale, a small restaurant.

However, the state of mental health care in Japan is not so forgiving. Suffering from budget deficits, national and local governments are cutting costs, grants, and services for mental patients and institutions. Mental received a Special Jury Mention at the Miami International Film Festival, 2009 and the Outstanding Documentary Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, 2009.