The Dead (James Joyce evening: reading and film)

Muistot / De döda. US/GB 1987. D: John Huston. SC: Tony Huston - based on last short story in Dubliners (1914) by James Joyce. CAST: Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann. A vintage print with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 11 Sep 2009. - Introduced by the actor, Mr. Seppo Pääkkönen reading James Joyce (25 min). - Revisited the beginning of John Huston's last film, to many his masterpiece, preceded by a reading of the original text. - James Joyce is a central force in the cinema age, although this film is probably the only masterful film adaptation of his work.

Let There Be Light

Tulkoon valkeus. US 1946. (c) 1948. PC: U.S. Army Pictorial Services. D+ED: John Huston. [SC: John Huston, Charles Kaufman n.c.] [M: Dimitri Tiomkin n.c.][DP: Stanley Cortez, John Doran, Lloyd Fromm, Joseph Jackman, George Smith n.c. - 35mm][Narrator: Walter Huston n.c.] LOC: Edgewood State Hospital, Commack, Long Island, New York. 59 min. 16mm print from Imperial War Museum. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 17 Jan 2008. A documentary on neuropsychiatric war invalids. 20% of the invalids were neuropsychiatric. This film focuses on neuroses: aphasia, amnesia, conversion hysteria, etc. (Psychoses, schizophrenia, catatonia, and shock therapy are not included.) Treatments include hypnosis, narcosynthesis ("a shortcut into the unconscious"), occupational therapy, music therapy, arts, religion, and sports. "Every man has his breaking point", the narrator states. These men have suffered experiences beyond human endurance. They are casualties of the spirit. The film is so optimistic, it's strange it was shelved well into the 1980s.