Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, October 23, 1999
There are more than 300 globally renowned individuals who are believed to have bipolar disorder. However, it is unfortunately rare to find a famous person who has openly battled a severe mental illness.
When people with mental illness speak about their past experiences in baseball, soccer, calligraphy, abacus calculation, and other activities, their eyes shine with passion. Knowing that they once led bright and fulfilling lives before their illness makes it painfully clear that the onset of their condition was a profound personal tragedy.
The Australian film Shine (1996), which depicts the life of world-renowned pianist David Helfgott, stands out as an exceptional portrayal of mental illness. Actor Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for his performance in the film. Unlike One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which caricatured and satirized psychiatric hospitals with an exaggerated sense of surreal oddity, Shine offers a more nuanced and empathetic perspective.
As a young man, Helfgott defied his strict father—who insisted that the family must always stay together—and left Australia to study at the Royal College of Music in London. After delivering a powerful performance of Rachmaninoff’s notoriously difficult piece in a competition, the overwhelming stress caused him to break down, leading to the onset of his illness. Following a prolonged hospitalization, he lived in isolation for years.
Gradually, signs of his recovery and rebirth emerge. He begins playing the piano at a local wine bar, all while muttering rapidly to himself.
Eventually, he marries an astrologer who understands his talent, resumes his professional career, and performs in full-fledged concerts once again. The scene where he leaps repeatedly into the air, basking in the sunlight and shouting with joy, symbolizes his return to the brilliance he possessed before his illness. That is why the film is called Shine.
The real-life David Helfgott is still alive today, continuing to tour and perform around the world.
Whether famous or unknown, the experience of overcoming mental illness itself is invaluable. Shine was a film that brought hope to those enduring long battles with mental illness, some for ten or even twenty years.
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