Awakenings 2017

In 1969, a compassionate physician named Dr. Malcolm Sayer works at a Bronx hospital, tending to a group of catatonic patients who survived the devastating encephalitis lethargica outbreak decades earlier. Among the catatonic patients are Robert, Sebastian Cavazza; Karmen, Jana Zupančič; Marcel, Jurij Zrnec; Ula, Katarina Čas; Jana, Saša Pavlin Stošić; Jonaš, Primož Pirnat; Receptor, Branko Šturbej; Pia, Tara Moretti; Jaka, Petja Labović; and Matic, Tristan Bizjak Kralj. Through careful observation, Sayer discovers that simple stimuli—catching a ball, hearing familiar music, being called by name, and receiving human touch—can awaken these patients in unique ways, offering a window into their inner worlds and revealing the profound humanity still present within them.

A keynote moment arrives after a conference on L-DOPA and its successes with Parkinson’s disease, which leads Sayer to believe the drug could offer a breakthrough for his group. A trial with Leonard Lowe yields a astonishing result: he fully “awakens” from his catatonic state, and the prospect of reviving others fills the hospital with renewed hope. This breakthrough persuades donors to fund expanded treatment, fueling Sayer’s dream of bringing awakenings to all the patients.

Leonard’s return to life brings both excitement and new tensions. He becomes romantically interested in Paula, the daughter of another hospital patient, testing the boundaries of what it means to live again inside a system that still constrains him. As Leonard grows more animated, he begins to push back against the restrictions placed on him as a patient, challenging Sayer and the hospital administration to allow more freedom and agency.

Yet the optimism is tempered by reality. The initial awakenings prove to be temporary for many of the patients. Leonard’s first signs of progress fade; his facial and body tics intensify, his walk stiffens into a shuffle, and full-body spasms increasingly limit his movement. Despite the pain, Leonard remains determined, even asking Sayer to film his experience in the hope that the footage might help others someday.

Aware of the looming decline, Leonard shares a final, intimate lunch with Paula and, though he can no longer see her in the way he once could, they share a meaningful moment. Paula invites him to dance, and for a brief, calming moment, the tremors cease as they move together. This respite underscores a poignant truth: even as the body falters, the heart and spirit can still connect.

In the end, Leonard and the other patients drift back toward catatonia, even as increasing doses of L-DOPA fail to sustain the awakenings. Dr. Sayer addresses a group of donors, explaining that while the outward awakenings were fleeting, a deeper, lasting awakening had occurred—the patients’ renewed appreciation for life and the new, more humane way the hospital treats them. Sayer himself undergoes a personal shift, overcoming his own shyness to ask Nurse Eleanor Costello for coffee, signaling growth beyond the lab and the ward.

Even as the patients fade from active wakefulness, Paula continues to visit Leonard, and the Ouija board remains a quiet, stubborn link between them. It stands as a testament to the enduring human spirit—a reminder that connection and memory can persist even when the body falters, and that the true awakening may be found in the dignity, empathy, and shared humanity that permeate the hospital’s halls.