What Lies Inside: Healing in the Face of Trauma

Sometimes the artist doesn't know what the picture will be until the final stroke of their brush. Similarly, this film will take you on a journey to what looks like a predictable end, but instead, the director's stunningly visual sleight of hand redirects the trip into unexpected, beautiful depths. Whether you are a victim of trauma or not, you need to see this film, because someone in your life needs you to watch. For the traumas in the past, for the traumas we may be experiencing now, and for the traumas yet to come, we need this to learn how to love our neighbors and ourselves. I will watch again, and encourage my friends, family and strangers to do the same.

With as traumatizing as this year has been, it's important for us all to recognize our collective traumas and mental anguishes. This film is able to remarkably take you through the inner workings of our own mind from someone who underwent a journey of their own throughout. It is remarkable to see the audience character also be the narrator and as Luke goes through his own journey, we do as well.

Watching this movie gave me a different perspective into what people with trauma go through. It's raw and vulnerable and real. The movie gives tangible ways to help you walk through your trauma journey. Very enlightening!

What a stunning piece of film art with an incredibly important message. Thank you for making this film. I am a marriage and family therapy student at a seminary and plan to share this with my professors and student colleagues. It's so beautifully done, the cinematography is absolutely stunning, and it is relevant to not only my studies, but to the current climate of our world. Outstanding work, crew!

I was skeptical at first. Prepared to be entertained with a film that "was about him." After about 30 minutes, I thought "This film isn't about him, it's about them." It hit me hard when I realized, that ultimately, it was about me...and you. Beautifully shot and expertly crafted, Mr. Renner invites you on a difficult journey of his own self-discovery, introduces you to sympathetic "real" people who are genuine and disarming with their vulnerability as they share their own stories of trauma, all while real professionals provide context for the experience. By the end, the viewer is left with questions about their own journey, but with tangible solutions they can take with them should they choose to begin their own quest for healing. As a lifelong educator, I fully endorse this beautiful film and urge those who work with broken people to add it to their tool kit.