Underplayed Gems

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2021)

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life poster
Directed by
Ric Burns
Genre
documentary film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 51m
Rated
15
Rating
7.6 of 10 from 13 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.

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How it feels

The film is a biography of Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and writer. He talks about his life and work, including his struggles with addiction and his feelings about his sexuality.

intimatereflectivecandidpoignantcontemplativepersonalthoughtfulearnest

What happens

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life is a 2019 American biographical documentary film directed and created by Ric Burns about Oliver Sacks, a British neurologist and science historian, based on his autobiography, His Own Life. Produced by Zeitgeist Films, the film contains extensive interviews with Sacks and features commentary from friends and colleagues such as his publisher Roberto Calasso, his editor Kate Edgar, writer and doctor Atul Gawande and artist Shane Fistell. Sacks discusses his professional life and his personal difficulties such as substance abuse and internalized homophobia. The book, titled On the Move: A Life, was published six to seven months before his end-stage terminal cancer was diagnosed. The film initially premiered in 2019 at the Telluride Film Festival, and had its general release on September 23, 2020, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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