Modern Psychiatric Case History: Taking Films as an Example

Author: Confucius and others
Publisher:
Publication Date:
Features: The format of this book shows the designer's dedication. The "Symptoms" section is a retelling of the film content, while the "Diagnosis" section is essentially a film critique from a psychoanalytic perspective. Continuous images directly affect the senses, whereas reading text allows for pauses and reflective rumination. If you've watched Kieslowski's film The Decalogue, consider reading its film novel and also E Xiao Feng's The Heavy Body. However, if the order is reversed, preconceived rationality might constrain sensibility—therefore, from the perspective of appreciating the film, I never advocate reading reviews before watching the movie. Instead, explore the DVD market first, then read this book to seek emotional resonance and intellectual inspiration.
But if you're not a film enthusiast but rather a young person with occasional disagreements with life, this book can also serve as a "question-and-answer box" for reading: the front part narrates, while the back analyzes. Of course, it's far more sophisticated than a typical "wise sister" advice column. Masters like Bergman always remain enigmatic to ordinary people. Themes like loss, loneliness, fear, voyeurism, and suicide—expressed by a literary newcomer—differ significantly from those of a master. Films like Citizen Kane, Wild Strawberries, Vertigo, A Short Film About Love, and The Taste of Cherry are classics worth reading and reflecting upon. Watching such films or reading such books may not cure "mental illness," but they can guide us to shed superficial bubbles and approach a deeper inner self.
Such a "medical record" is not "comfort food" and cannot offer a sweet promise—it can even make things more despairing. However, reading a dark book that diagnoses without prescribing has its own advantages: a person in pain, upon seeing an accurate description of their pain, may not find relief, but at least gain a sense of understanding and comfort. Ultimate suffering is unsolvable, and when it reaches a profound depth, it might even produce a certain kind of gratification internally, based on innate vanity?
Ranked as the "seventh art," cinema has only existed for over a century. If it's true that "since then, modern people have gained a mirror to observe their own bodies and minds," then this mirror reflects humanity's century-long maladies over the past hundred years.