2023 Golden Bear Winner Embraces the Complexity of Humanity and the Healing Power of Art
DIRECTED BY NICOLAS PHILIBERT/FRENCH/2023
DVD STREET DATE: MAY 28, 2024/KINO LORBER
On the banks of the Seine, the Adamant floats gently with the current of the river. Entirely unassuming in appearance, this relatively new fixture in the Parisian community functions as a daycare center for adults that struggle with mental disorders. Patients are surrounded by an organized crew of nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and various other specialists. Each individual is given the experience of a structured routine and offered art workshops with therapeutic intentions. Expressions of art fill the Adamant in forms such as painting, singing, film, photography, and literature.
We open with internal shots of the ship accompanied by singing from one of the Adamant’s numerous patients, Francois. His performance drips with emotion and passion, even if Francois is impeded by his personal problems. Francois, along with his fellow patients, expresses a deep sense of gratitude for art-based therapies offered to them. Their days are filled with chances to engage in self-expression. It is clear with patients such as Francois and Frederic (a man convinced he is the reincarnation of Vincent Van Gogh) that they receive a sense of catharsis in their chosen art-form. However, as Francois blatantly states, they equally appreciate the access to the necessary medication.
On the Adamant (Sur l’Adamant) exceeds in the capable hands of director Nicolas Philibert. A veteran of documentary filmmaking, Philibert and his crew approach the creation of the Adamant with a loose sense of structure. There is a distinct lack of any attempt at dramatization of the events that unfold on camera. Philibert and his crew move through the vessel as ghostly narrators, only inserting themselves when they are approached with direct questions. This method, though not practiced in many televised documentaries, fuels the atmosphere of comfort created on the Adamant. Routines are not disturbed and each patient offers their stories willingly to an audience that is actively listening.
We follow Philibert around as he bounces from filming a drawing workshop, the arrival of a new staff member, morning meetings on the ship, and other various activities. Through it all, a sense of empathy bleeds out of the screen. Patients express their appreciation for the care they receive and for the staff that offer their assistance. There is a gentle sense of hope on this strange vessel as we are exposed to day-to-day life on the Adamant. This fleeting glimpse into this community is raw without being overpowering. It is explicitly human and honest in an effort to shed light on the reality of mental illness. As the audience disembarks the ship with the rest of the inhabitants at the end of the day, we are left appreciating the power of such compassionate, caring facilities such as the Adamant.
