The Snake Pit.

The Snake pit [ 1948 ] directed by Anatole Litvak was screened as the movie of the month in the Institute of Mental Health by the Psyche Cine Club on 5-3-2011.

The movie was about a woman named Virginia Cunningham's descent into a psychotic episode and her doctor Kik's attempt to cure her in the backdrop of the state asylum.

Many of the post graduates watching the movie could relate to the movie, as the proceeding of the mental institution portrayed in the movie reflected the institution they are working in.

Dr.Kik is so eager to find the root cause of the Virginia's illness, but the much guarded Virginia's psyche is making it difficult for him to establish the rapport. His colleagues and his superiors are so eager in discharging the patients prematurely to reduce the  burden [ they have much more patients than the beds, much less mattresses then the extra patients, what could they do?]. So he is forced to use ECT to establish rapport soon and succeeds to a certain extent. After much mental sweating(!) he could actually come close to the root conflict that had triggered her psychosis, but she was forced to attend the staff, lead by a group of alien looking committee of doctors , who virtually rags her to prove her sanity, which droves her to a point of biting a chief's finger (the accusing pointing finger). We all know what would be the fate of the patient after hurting some one really important, she was dumped to a worst possible ward, were most of the patients are roaming at the zenith of psychosis. She gets a derealized feeling as if the whole ward has turned into a snake pit. (is it a derealization or realization?).

           (The scene of derealized ward turning into a snake pit in Virginia's mind eye)

But Dr.Kik is persistent in his effort, slowly charting out the psychodynamics behind her illness and addressing it to her in the best possible way. The positive transference developed and resolved in Virginia during the therapy sessions is subtly portrayed ( and also portrayed well the reactions of 'the doctor possessive' nursing staff!).


Discussion after the movie circled around the controversies regarding the psychoanalysis. Most post graduates find it is unethical to meddle with the patient's mind to find the root cause. A good discussion ended with lots of questions than answers, anyway answers only appear after proper questioning, isn't it!

By medications we are manipulating brain's hardware, but Psychiatrists are brain's software professionals, but little they care about mental codings and its abnormalities!

But in the discussion we forgot to talk about Dr.Kik and I think lot could be learned from his portrayal of a psychiatrist, the nuances of gentle yet persistent way of handling the tenderest part of the body, the mind!