Nise: The Heart of Madness

Excellent true story, but execution was certainly flawed in its pacing, scene choices, and overall ability to connect the audience with the characters. Admirable performances from the ensemble cast, especially the eponymous Glória Pires as Doctor Nise da Silveira. An important story that needed to be shared with the world, but could have been told with more eloquence.

"If creativity, rebellion and innovation are indispensable vehicles to bring about change, Brazilian psychiatrist and health humanities pioneer Nise da Silveira was a shining example of these qualities. Born in the impoverished Northeastern region of Brazil in 1905, she was the first woman to graduate from her medical school, among 157 men. She was incarcerated in the Brazilian Uprising of 1936 by the fascist dictatorship, alongside protesting artists, writers, and political personalities; and she went on to face political and personal resistance to her ideas from a stoic, unchanging protocol of mental health care for schizophrenic patients."