Alive Inside Review
By David Kempler
More Than Staying Alive
How often do you to see a documentary and get equally informed and entertained? Michael Rossato-Bennett's "Alive Inside" accomplishes this most difficult to attain level. The subject of the problem is Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and how they are currently dealt with in our society, specifically in nursing homes. The subject of the treatment is unlike anything you could possibly guess. No, it's not a breakthrough drug. It's music.
Our hero is social worker, Dan Cohen. A couple of years ago he began experimenting with music as a tool for communicating with residents of nursing homes that were locked within their own worlds. These patients spend most of their days staring into space, with their heads buried in their hands or face-down on a table.
We watch as Dan places an iPod in their hands and slips headphones over their ears. One-by-one, all of them spring to life when they hear songs that were once part of their lives. It almost seems to be too good to be true, yet the reactions are universally breath-taking. They all start moving to the beat and some even start singing. One lady who has been confined to a walker for years begins to dance. It is hard to not get emotional while seeing all of this unfold.
The scientific theory behind this is that when we are in the womb, there is a beat to the mother's voice that we pick up on, and the film maintains that when newborns cry, they mimic the sound patterns they have experienced while in the womb. No conclusive evidence is given for this theory, but it is certain that music is universal and spans every single culture on Earth. Certainly there is something biological at work.
Dan Cohen's goal is to get iPods into the hands of every single resident of every single nursing home. Naturally this is met with tremendous resistance. After all, it is non-traditional therapy, and insurance won't cover it, so the money will have to come from somewhere. His quest finally takes off when it unexpectedly goes viral.
"Alive Inside" feels like a mix of "Awakenings" and "
Young @ Heart", two films that are centered on related topics, but "Alive Inside" actually has the potential to make a real difference and the feeling of exhilaration you will experience will no doubt make you feel more alive inside.
