A 2018 Oscar(®) winner for Best Documentary Short, this film is a portrait of Mindy Alper, a brilliant 56-year-old artist represented by one of Los Angeles’ top galleries. Her body of raw, emotional work reveals a lifetime of depression and mental disorder; she has suffered through electro shock therapy, multiple commitments to mental institutions and a 10-year period without speech. Her only consistent means of communicating has been to channel her hyper self-awareness into drawings and sculpture of powerful psychological clarity that eloquently express her emotional state. Through an examination of her work, interviews, reenactments, and the building of an eight and a half foot papier-mâché bust of her beloved psychiatrist, we learn how she has emerged from a life of darkness and isolation to one that includes love, trust, and support. The title of the film begs the question as to why the 405 freeway, the north/south highway that connects Los Angeles to its northern suburbs and statistically the busiest and most universally loathed highway in the world, would be anyone's idea of heaven. It is a quote from Ms. Alper, and expresses the extent to which she sees life differently from most.
Read more
Collapse
Cast and credits
Reviews
Review policy and infoLoading…
Additional Information
Rotten Tomatoes® score
Audio language
English [Stereo]
Subtitles
English [CC]
Eligible for Family Library
Eligible if purchased with select payment methods. Rentals are not eligible. Learn more
Run time
40 minutes