Matti da slegare

This documentary from 1975 has a remarkable history. Tommasini, the man who is responsible for public health in the communist province of Parma in Italy, developed a new policy for psychiatry. Tommasini integrated mentally handicapped people in society instead of putting away and forgetting about them, which was usual in the rest of Italy. He wanted to record the results of his new and pioneering policy in a documentary, and got in touch with director Marco Bellochio, who made matti da slegare with a cooperative that he formed.
The first part of the film follows three boys who were certified for some reason or another. They tell about their lives in private institutions, where they were put under physical and psychological pressure. They were hired out as cheap labourers. But thanks to the new psychiatric policy they found their place in society.
In the second part, the filmmakers talk with the people who are directly involved in the Parma-experiment, which has also enabled patients who were considered incurable to take part in society, with some restrictions. The film proves that mentally handicapped, among whom a mongol, can work in a factory. This is a greater help to them than medication and straitjackets.
The experiment is not presented as the definite cure but as a working alternative that is still in an experimental stage. The documentary does not portray the mentally handicapped as inferior people but rather as the last links in a chain of exploitation, not only by public health but also by their social past. This past has conditioned and destroyed them. The makers of the film look at the patients as people who have stood at a stultifying conveyor belt for over a thousand years.

Matti da slegare is a plea against all abuses in public health. The film has a strong communist slant. Especially the connection between health care and the catholic church is severely criticized by the filmmakers. They have made a film that technically did not wholly satisfy them: due to lack or time and money some shots look very unpolished. Nevertheless, they achieved their goal: the documentary effectively deals with the real problem of mental health care.