no_vampires_here
Loved it and Lotje is a really beautiful and interesting woman. Liked how she talked and her thinking, the whole experience and all. The fact that I couldn't rate this 10 stars is because of the editing. Sophie Robinson just tries so much that is getting harder and harder to pay attention. Yeah I got it, she wanted to do this so the watcher understand better Lotje's experience but there is just too much. Why exaggerate something that is clear all through the documentary?
Janne Petroci
I started watching this documentary without a clear idea of what a stroke is or what to expect of it. Within the first 30 minutes I was crying because of the intensity of Lotje's experience. I can't even imagine how hard it is to go through such a thing and never give up hope. I loved that she filmed a lot of it herself, even though she couldn't always explain how she felt. But you do see her evolution, not only in her recovery but also in acceptance of what is. She became conscious about her condition and about the importance of rest and tranquility in life, which is slightly different from the person she was before her stroke.This documentary is a reality-check about the severity of brain damage but also about being conscious, satisfied and grateful for your life. It teaches you the strength of human faith, even though she didn't always think she would recover - she never gave up and that is exactly what got her this far. She is an example for all of us, with a beautiful broken brain or just a regular one.
tenafterdave
It seems people who have had experience with strokes or other brain injuries are the first to be weighing in about this film. I thought it was an excellent, commendably honest look at the confusion and frustration which are common components of the injured brain. (In my case, I experienced a fractured skull with subdural hematoma when I was just entering my teen years. It took a full year of therapy for me to fully recover.) I was spared aphasia, yet I experienced hemi-paralysis and remember vividly the cognitive distortions and unreal-seeming surprises that occurred, much as they to do the brave Lotje in the film.All in all, I thought this was an outstanding film, and wish nothing but the very best for the brave young lady who documented her experience.
Carlos Gaspar
Wow! I was mesmerized by her story and her beautiful mind... I am a nurse, and worked for many years in a acute care unit, so I dealt with this look-a-like situations on a daily basis. I always wondered about the implications of this situations, specifically in aphasic syndromes... and, somehow, always felt helpless. I mean, it's really challenging: the depersonalization, the lack of freedom that the unit routines impose, people not recognizing/redefining themselves, the uncertainty towards the future and life-goals/projects, the "re-construction" of the self and pursuing/finding a meaning. It's a really emotive journey! If you can, please read: "De Profundis - Valsa Lenta", from José Cardoso Pires (a top Portuguese writer), that describes his experience when he had a stroke. I kept remembering his writings throughout the film, he had a really similar point of view...