During a trip to America, Tom Struyf comes across the existence of a former psychiatric hospital in the village of Willard. He inquires, and becomes intrigued. So much so that he returns for a more systematic investigation and interviews former employees with a camera: what kind of place was this?
In Finding Willard the Flemish theater maker reports on his conversations and discoveries in words and video images. Like previous work, this is a reconstruction: this time of the history of this institution and thus implicitly of psychiatric methods.
He subtly deepens his documentary approach with a personal layer: his ‘dear’ and he want a child. Struyf wonders how you can provide the best care as a parent and where it is a safe place for a person. That also explains his fascination with Willard: the hospital, which was created in the nineteenth century, seems to be an idyllic place.
What the mostly very old former employees of the institute, which has been closed since 1996, say is that the psychiatric hospital essentially coincided with the village of the same name in upstate New York. Caregivers and patients lived side by side. The institute also had an immense farm and was therefore largely self-sufficient. The patients did the work and labor was considered therapeutic.
Forsaken sailor
The first crack in the picture arises with the list of disorders and reasons for admission. A dog bite or jealousy was enough. A Japanese sailor who spoke no English, left behind by colleagues, was there for the rest of his life.
Then there is also personal setback: a test on his unborn child indicates possible abnormalities. But what is normal? Who is the deviation, Struyf wonders. Inspired by the love of the ex-carers he speaks to, he thinks he can handle a child with a syndrome. His girlfriend is skeptical.
Willard’s downfall began with the rise of antidepressants, which were regarded as miracle drugs, in the 1960s. Dealing with patients is changing, cutbacks further restrict care, until closure follows. What used to be patients are now homeless and detainees, someone concludes. He states: depriving people of their care “is a crime”.
New questions
Suddenly Struyf realizes that he has not spoken to any patients. And what they tell him dramatically changes the image of a loving, caring place. At the same time, new questions arise that remain unanswered.
Struyf (1983) is a pleasant, calm narrator, with an eye for the individuality of people. Unfortunately, he partly reads from paper, and takes a little too much time for his story and for atmospheric images on the screen. But the many special people he performs, with their pain and happiness, are immensely intriguing.
above all Finding Willard a worthy portrait of sincere attempts at humane care. It shows how good will gets lost in a wrong system. The search may largely end in disillusionment, but the community spirit of people that has been exposed also gives hope.
:strip_icc()/s3/static.nrc.nl/widgets/files/2022/10/lees-ook-theater.gif)