BY KEI SHIRAHAMA

The American movie "Patch Adams," directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Robin Williams, was released in Japan in March, 1999. This movie depicts the life of Patch Adams, who is a real person. The film begins from the time he was hospitalized in a mental hospital to his graduation from medical school. The film was inspired by a book which describes his own medical service. Though this movie wasn't talked about so much in Japan, it was a big hit in the US.

Robin Williams said in press conference when he came to Japan that the

reason it was a big hit is because, "The public needs doctors such as Patch

Adams in today's impersonal medical system." This movie is a great work that catches the feeling of present society.

Patch Adams is an American psychiatrist. His cherished opinion is this: Laughing helps the human mind and body recover, which is common knowledge in mental circles. He was sent to a mental hospital when he was eighteen years old for attempting suicide. He found that laughing cures the human mind while he kept relations with comrades at the ward. The movie includes a lot of scenes of his trying out the effects of laughing.

One of the prominent scenes in this regard is the one where he enters a

pediatrics department and makes children suffering from disease smile. In one scene, he was running about with a red rubber ball used for enemas on his noise and bedpans on his feet in order to get the children to laugh. Patch's performance touched my heart. Patch's tender heart and greatness is mirrored in this scene.

The most impressive scene is the one where Arthur, one of his comrades at the ward where Patch was a patient, said to him on the previous night of

Patch's leaving the hospital, "How many fingers can you see?" showing four

fingers. Patch said, "Four." But Arthur said, "When you focus on me at the back of my fingers, you can see twice as many out of focus. The answer is eight." Patch learned the importance of seeing the things people don't look for from this event.

Both Arthur's advice to Patch and Patch's thoughtfulness of patients teach

people, who are likely to have some prejudice and overlook the true heart,

the importance of recognizing the truth and of being thoughtful of others.

Though this film is no longer at the theaters, I would like a lot of people to see this movie when it comes out on video. And I want viewers to consider their relationship with others once more. By doing so, I expect that they will have a good chance to regain their warm heart.