MovieChat Forums > Wit (2001) Discussion > Why would anyone want to make or watch t...

Why would anyone want to make or watch this horrifying ordeal?

posted 8 years ago by vishalc2005
3 replies | jump to latest

I love Mike Nichols as a director and I'm sure this would be a great movie in terms of direction, acting and all technicalities. But 15 minutes into the movie and I couldn't bear it. How can anyone go through 90 minutes of unbearable horrors, and not some unidentifiable horror like getting stranded in space, facing a new epidemic, but something real and near to each one of us. I personally cannot understand the rationale behind this sapping effort

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

It’s called tragedy, a narrative form that’s been popular since the days of classic Greece. It places the protagonist in a conflict that is literally impossible to overcome, thereby letting us see the full measure of the protagonist’s strenghth by seeing how close she comes to meeting the challenge, and inspiring us with her determination. Its narrative opposite is comedy, which puts a clod in a situation that any asshole could handle, and then we watch as he fucks it up.

[–] captainbucky (15252) 6 years ago

I worked on a stage production of this. Very moving

[–] vadergirl86 (3) 6 years ago

I watched it several years ago in nursing school. Our instructors wanted us to see it so that we could learn about how we should and should not interact with our patients. It had a powerful effect on me personally as well as my classmates. Nurses need to be more compassionate no matter how long they've been practicing and this film is a good reminder of that.