Mark O'Brien's iron lung is "huge and ugly and yellow, but it works." Stricken with polio as a child, O'Brien has spent most of his life on a respirator of one sort or another, and today spends only about an hour each day outside his life-maintaining cocoon. Jessica Yu's Oscar-winning film is an outstanding look at Mark O'Brien's life and work, interweaving O'Brien's poems (from his book Breathing) with his observations on living with a severe disability, his work (using a mouth-held pointer, O'Brien taps out letters on the PC keyboard to write articles, poetry, and letters), and his search for love and even companionship. O'Brien pays moving homage to his parents (who didn't consign him to a nursing home), talks about the importance of independence for people with disabilities, and comments on a wide range of topics from the existence of God to the importance of sex [the frank discussion of which rules out junior high audiences, but I hope high school teachers will consider it]). Although it's a Hollywood cliché to speak in terms of laughter and tears, Breathing Lessons stimulates both, and teaches us something about humanity at the same time. An excellent portrait. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
Breathing Lessons
(1996) 35 min. $195. Fanlight Productions. PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 1-47295-180-X. Open captioned. Vol. 12, Issue 3
Breathing Lessons
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