The 21 best movies about schizophrenia

Cinematic masterpieces that bring us closer to the world of people suffering from this disorder.

Schizophrenia is one of the hardest mental illnesses to cope with, but that doesn't mean you can't connect with the people who suffer from it.

Although the break with reality may seem difficult to explain, cinematic language has many ways of expressing the way these people see things..

• Recommended article: "The 6 types of schizophrenia and characteristics".

Movies about schizophrenia to understand the disease.

This selection of movies about schizophrenia is one more way to understand what this condition consists of and the social and emotional implications it often entails.

1. Take Shelter (2011)

A psychological drama in which we can observe how the rupture between a man and reality evolves. in which he lives. Gradually, the film's protagonist gives in to the impulse to believe in a series of apocalyptic hallucinations that lead him to build a shelter underground.

2. Donnie Darko (2001)

Indie film starring actor Jake Gyllenhaal. In it, a young man named Donnie has visions in which he sees a person disguised as a giant rabbit with a sinister aspect. sinister-looking giant rabbit. This entity tells him that the world is going to end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. The release of this work went almost unnoticed, but with the arrival of its DVD version it became a cult movie.

3. Lilith (1964)

A psychiatrist working in a health center reserved for the upper classes meets Lilith, a young woman with schizophrenia, and falls in love with her.and falls in love with her. Through this relationship and his desire to weave a romantic relationship with the patient, the doctor renounces to live in the world of what he understood to be "the sane". This film is based on a novel by J.R. Salamanca.

4. A Wonderful Mind (2001)

A film about schizophrenia based on a real case.. It talks about the life of John Forbes Nash, a mathematician with paranoid schizophrenia who went on to win a Nobel Prize in 1994. Throughout its 131 minutes of duration, A Beautiful Mind shows the evolution of Nash's illness and also the way in which he makes it compatible with his passions.

5. Spider (2002)

Directed by David Cronenberg, this film is about a man who, after spending some time in a psychiatric hospital, stops taking his medication and relives experiences related to a traumatic childhood. and relives experiences related to a traumatic childhood. marked by the death of her mother and her relationship with her father.

6. Canvas (2006)

A story that focuses on a South Florida family and the way they cope with the mother's illness. One of the most moving films about schizophrenia..

7. Angel Baby (1995)

Relatively little known Australian film about two people with schizophrenia who meet in group therapy.. After falling in love and moving in together, they deal with a series of difficulties related to their mental health and the onset of a pregnancy.

8. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)

This film about schizophrenia takes place in a psychiatric hospital where a woman is admitted after repeatedly confusing reality and fiction. and fiction repeatedly. In this scenario the protagonist comes into contact with a psychiatrist who offers her the possibility of maintaining a point of connection with the real world.

9. The Fisher King (1991)

Directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, this work narrates the case of a radio announcer who comes in contact with a beggar with signs of schizophrenic with signs of schizophrenic spectrum disorders. Together they embark on a quest to find the Holy Grail.

10. Black Swan (2010)

One of the most famous films of director Darren Aronofsky, tells the story of a ballerina (played by Natalie Portman) who embarks on a quest for artistic perfection.Although along the way, signs are revealed that she is increasingly breaking with the perception of reality.

11. The Soloist (2009)

In the line of other films about schizophrenia based on real cases, The Soloist (2009) is a film about schizophrenia., The Soloist tells the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a talented cellist who during his training at the conservatory developed mental illness and ended up living in beggary. However, the situation changes when a journalist meets him and is impressed by his skills.

12. Benny & Joon, the love of innocents (1993)

Joon is a young girl who, after the death of her parents, begins to experience hallucinations and delusions, a set of symptoms typical of schizophrenia.a set of symptoms typical of schizophrenia. Her brother devotes all his efforts to take care of her, although the arrival of Sam, a young man starring Johnny Depp, will cause the problems to intensify, on the one hand, and a love affair, on the other.

13. Angels without a Sky (1993)

In this work shows the friendship between a young man with schizophrenia and a Vietnam War veteran who meet at a shelter for schizophrenics. who coincide in a homeless shelter. The friendship that is born between them reveals how they can connect that, despite having different pasts, they can come to see themselves mirroring each other.

14. Some Voices (2000)

This romantic drama talks about Ray, a young man who, after having been in a psychiatric center, moves in with his brother Pete.. They help each other, but when Ray falls in love with a woman, their relationship begins to falter.

15. K-Pax (2001)

One of the best-known films about schizophrenia, K-Pax is about the life of a man with schizophrenia.K-Pax is about the life of a man who calls himself Prot and about whom virtually nothing is known other than that he claims to come from a distant planet and plans to go back sometime in the future. Prot is admitted to a psychiatric center for his delusional beliefs, and there he revolutionizes the lives of the rest of the patients.

16. I am a cyborg (2006)

One of the best known South Korean films in the West.. It is about the life of two young people confined in a psychiatric center who establish a curious connection. Young-goon believes that she is a cyborg and can only be powered by batteries, so she refuses to eat. Il-soon, a young man who always hides behind a mask, will have to understand the logic behind Young-goon's thinking in order to help her.

17. Veronika decides to die (2009)

This fiction narrates the life of a young woman who, after deciding she wants to die and trying to commit suicide, is informed that she has nothing left to do.She is informed that she has little time left to live because of the overdose of drugs she used. While she remains in the hospital, she meets a patient with schizophrenia who makes her see things differently.

18. Death of an Angel (2001)

Samuel L. Jackson plays a man with schizophrenia who tries to find the murderer of a young boy by deciphering all the clues he finds. by deciphering all the clues he can find. This work leaves aside the more intimate side that characterizes other films about schizophrenia to emphasize the importance of the mystery plot.

19. Nise (2015)

A Brazilian film about the most recent paradigms of psychiatry, based on humane treatment of patients with the most severe mental disorders.. Dr. Nise da Silveira tries to make the schizophrenic inmates of her medical center be seen as people, something that serves to earn her the enmity of her colleagues.

20. Adèle's Intimate Diary (1975)

This film deals with the life of Adèle Hugo, Victor Hugo's daughter, and her physical and mental problems related to her obsessive way of experiencing unrequited love.

21. Woh Lamhe (2006)

A romantic drama in which schizophrenia plays an important role. This Hindi film released in 2006 reflects a different way of looking at mental illness. a different way of looking at mental illness.