Underplayed Gems

Children of Darkness (1983)

Children of Darkness poster
Directed by
Ara Chekmayan, Richard Kotuk
Genre
documentary film
Country
United States
Runtime
57 min
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 14 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

This documentary examines the lives of mentally ill and emotionally troubled children and young adults in US institutions. It includes interviews with parents whose children died in suspicious circumstances while in custody and with staff who acknowledge they cannot cure the patients.

soberingclinicaldisturbingmatter-of-factgloomyinvestigativeharrowingsubdued

What happens

Children of Darkness is a 1983 American documentary film on PBS produced by Ara Chekmayan and Richard Kotuk. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The documentary focuses on mentally ill and emotionally troubled children and young adults living in various private and public residences in the United states. The film focuses on state institutions, such as the Eastern State School in Pennsylvania, the Élan School in Poland, Maine, Sagamore Children's Centre, a Long Island (state run) institution and South Beach in New York psychiatric hospitaland features interviews with various parents, whose children died under suspicious circumstances while in custody. Presented alongside these are interviews with various staff members who work with the disabled children, emphasising the staff's awareness of their inability to cure them. One of the drugs that caused patient deaths in the South Beach hospital is mesoridazine, which was withdrawn from the United States market in 2004 due to dangerous heart side effects. The Élan School closed in 2011 due to criticism of its alleged treatment of patients. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.