SoulShadows

About the Film

Retrieving submerged dreams

Everyone has a bad day, but once you hit rock bottom the only way left is up. Or is it? Many people never face this question, and depression and melancholy are often romanticized or shrugged off. After all, everyone goes through difficult phases. But depression is more than that. It is an illness that encroaches on people’s lives and sometimes takes over completely, leaving its sufferers incapacitated. Therapy or a stay in a hospital clinic is at times the last resort. SOULSHADOWS by Dieter Gränicher accompanies (for a year and a half) three people who spent time in the hospital for depression and are on the road to recovery. Gränicher gives us an intimate look at the illness in quiet camera imagery that is accompanied by a soundtrack played on the piano by one of the films’ protagonists. Gränicher stays in the background, allowing the three patients to take center stage. Depression specialists appear in supporting roles. The film begins with the daily clinic routines. Hélène (50) is here for the second time. She shares the hospital room with her small dog. It is unusual for a clinic to allow patients to bring dogs, but the set up is good for Hélène. We see her visit various therapy programs and although we are right there with her, the camera remains at a respectful distance. Before she went into the hospital, Hélène had been holed up in her apartment. She had trouble keeping up with daily chores; dishes filled the sink and laundry filled the basket. Her depression had already cost her a couple of jobs. But after her stay in the clinic she's ready for life for a change in scenery. Her apartment holds too many sad memories and she decides to move out with the help of her two sons. The flowers she got for her birthday a while back are still unwrapped in plastic, lying on a dresser. “These are in surprisingly good shape” comments Hélène, who is somewhat skeptical of her own chances of recovery. Perhaps her grandson Marvin will do her good. He was born while the film was being shot. Charles E., portrayed in SoulShadow's

'Actually, I've seen nothing but blackness'

Charles is also in the clinic. “I didn’t see anything but blackness, the hole I found myself in.” He began working with clay in occupational therapy and made the ‘obligatory ashtray’ as he calls it. Born in Canada, he had returned to Switzerland, his country of citizenship, and earned a degree in chemistry. He began work on a doctorate, but the depression forced him to stop. He eventually admitted himself to the hospital. Now he's looking to gain a foothold in the world, and he's confident about the future, even if the stress of life hasn’t lessened. He finds work as a forestry assistant in a program for the unemployed. Charles says the job does him good. He’s aware that the depression will never completely heal, but he is learning how he can live with it.

Hard Times

The third person is a 20 year old woman who wishes to remain anonymous. She’s afraid that disclosing the truth about her depression could hinder her chances in life. Gränicher doesn’t film in the clinic. The starting point to her journey is the ‘gymnasium’, the collage-preparation equivalent of high school. She is just about to graduate but drops out due to depression. Everything just got to be too much and she couldn't cope. Her social net though catches her in time. Support comes from a grandmother in Germany, her parents, and above all, her boyfriend. He sticks it out with her, even though she ignores, insults, and withdraws from him. She says that she thinks about driving a car into a wall or a tree, but that she’s also aware howhard that would be for her friends and family, and what would happen if the suicide attempt failed? She might have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair, she says. The film ends on a hopeful note. Hélène is doing better and she wants to leave the past behind her. Charles has found a position in a chemistry lab, and the anonymous young woman is now working on her high school diploma.