Rating: PG13
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 12/20/1990(USA)
Release Date: 08/26/1997
SubTitles: Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: DS
Run Time: 121 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks,
Awakenings stars
Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (
Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care.
Julie Kavner and
John Heard also star.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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