Nise: The Heart of Madness

Nise: The Heart of Madness
Portuguese	Nise: O Coração da Loucura
Directed by	Roberto Berliner
Produced by	Rodrigo Letler
Written by	Patrícia Andrade Leonardo Rocha Roberto Berliner Flávia Castro Maurício Lissovsky Chris Alcazar Maria Camargo
Based on	The life of Nise da Silveira
Starring	Glória Pires Simone Mazzer Julio Adrião Cláudio Jaborandy Fabrício Boliveira Roney Villela Flávio Bauraqui Bernardo Marinho Roberta Rodrigues Augusto Madeira Zé Carlos Machado
Cinematography	Andre Horta
Edited by	Pedro Bronz Leonardo Domingues
Production company	TV Zero
Release date	21 April 2016 (2016-04-21) (Brazil)
Country	Brazil
Language	Portuguese

Nise: The Heart of Madness (Portuguese: Nise: O Coração da Loucura) is a 2015 Brazilian docudrama directed by Roberto Berliner. Starring Glória Pires, the film is based on the life of psychiatrist Nise da Silveira, a pioneer of occupational therapy in Brazil. Nise also features Fabrício Boliveira, Fernando Eiras, Perfeito Fortuna, Roberta Rodrigues, Augusto Madeira, Simone Mazzer, and Zé Carlos Machado, among others.^[1]

Plot

When leaving prison, Dr. Nise da Silveira returns to work in a psychiatric hospital in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and refuses to use electroshock and lobotomy in the treatment of schizophrenics. Isolated by the doctors, she must resume the abandoned Occupational Therapy Sector, where she initiates a revolution ruled by love, art and madness.^[1][2]

Production

According to director Roberto Berliner, the idea for Nise came from Bernardo Horta, brother of the film's director of photography, André Horta. André started organizing some of da Silveira's writing, then passed the project to Berliner in 2003. In all, research for the film took 13 years.^[3]

Release

The film was released over 3 years, in different parts of the world. In 2015, it was released in Japan.^[4] Throughout 2016, it was released in Sweden, France, Brazil, and the Netherlands.^[5] In 2017, it was released in the United States by Outsider Pictures and Strand Releasing.^[2]

Reception

Critical response

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Nise received generally positive reviews.^[6] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times called it "a mesmerizing drama",^[7] Daphne Howland of The Village Voice wrote "the actors’ portrayals ... ring true",^[8] Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter called it "heartwarming but unsentimental",^[1] and J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader wrote that it "has its powerful moments but ... turns into a black-and-white struggle between a caring, enlightened woman and a cadre of hard-hearted, benighted men."^[9]

Accolades

References