A 1974 TV movie so raw it makes modern mental health dramas look like pharmaceutical ads.
Writer/director Paul Maunder's second drama after his award-winning Going Up North for a While is a portrait of a woman's mental health crisis. In part one Julie (Denise Maunder) is haunted by her birth mother's breakdown. Her inner monologue narrates events; Julie hopes marriage and a job will "cure" her, and falls pregnant. After a traumatic delivery, she suffers an acute episode and is admitted into care. Part two takes place in a psychiatric hospital where drugs, electroconvulsive therapy and art therapy were standard treatments at the time. Maunder undertook research at Auckland's Kingseat psychiatric hospital.
Direction
Maunder's Kingseat research bleeds into every frame.
Acting
Denise Maunder's silent breakdowns speak louder than the voiceover.
Production
Shot in actual psychiatric wards—no set dressing required.
Director
Paul Maunder
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Maunder filmed at Kingseat Hospital, which operated until 1999 and is now notorious in New Zealand for patient abuse allegations.
Denise Maunder was the director's wife; their collaboration adds uncomfortable layers to scenes of institutionalized women stripped of agency.
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