LaBENDIG

Most documentaries about people in mental homes are oriented towards the more sensational aspects. Not lacking in voyeurism, they lay emphasis on the patients' deviant behaviour. Labendig is the result of a different approach. The filmmakers are interested in the daily lives of psychiatric patients in the Dobbertin Clinic in Germany. This institution is housed in an old monastery, beautifully situated near a lake in Mecklenburg. The filmmaker follows a number of patients in their daily activities and asks them about their ideas and longings. An example is Rudi, a former locksmith, who dreams about making a guest appearance in a TV-show on his tandem. His friend Egon practices daily to become a singer in a band. Günther dons a uniform now and then and dreams of a career as a general. Another patient writes poetry every day and yet another devotes his time to expounding his political views on the world. The soundtrack is performed by the Hamburg music group Station 17, which consists of both psychiatric patients and 'normal' people, who live together in the same housing complex. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)