HumanitiesCMAJ

Representations of the physicianin popular cinema typicallyrange from doctor as super-

hero to conscientious caregiver to,occasionally, cruel or indifferent mon-ster. Regardless of the nature of theserepresentations, however, the physi-cian has been invariably depicted assomeone who has access to profoundand mysterious knowledge. In the Canadian cinema specifically,

there are a number of fascinating physi-cians, both good and bad: the pedophil-iac predator David Sutton in AnneWheeler’s Loyalties (1986); thederanged twin gynecologists in DavidCronenberg’s Dead Ringers (1989); thesweetly altruistic, if socially naive, com-munity saviour Dr. Christopher Lewis inSeducing Doctor Lewis (2003). Whilethese films probe the social, economicand even political implications of med-ical practice, their dramas generally donot explore the complexities and, yes,mysteries of the underlying philosophyof why one actually becomes a physi-cian in the first place.Perhaps such philosophy cannot be

filmed; on the other hand, perhaps itcan. One acclaimed Canadian film-maker is attempting to do just that.Imagine that on your travels along the

Saint Lawrence River or to the Abitibiregion of Quebec you come face-to-facewith Hippocrates. Not literally, ofcourse, but you will encounter, in thethoughtful films of writer-directorBernard Émond an investigation intohow the role of the physician requires arenewed recognition of the philosophy ofHippocrates and a careful considerationof the consequences of embracing thatphilosophy in one’s medical practice. Émond’s two films La Veuvaine

(The Novena) (2005) and La Donation(The Legacy) (2009) are the first andthird parts of a trilogy of films based on

the Christian ideals of faith, hope andcharity (both available in English subti-tled DVD versions). They are exquis-itely rendered, quiet dramas revolvingaround the life of Dr. Jeanne Dion, aMontréal, Quebec, emergency depart-ment doctor faced with crises of con-science about her profession and itslarger meaning in the world.

The Novena is the story of Dion’sflight from the chaos of Montréal, whereshe witnesses a terrible incident involv-ing one of her patients. Driving east, sheends up in a small town where sheencounters François, a young man on areligious pilgrimage to save his dyinggrandmother. Dion’s existential and pro-fessional crises are recast in the contextof her friendship with François and herhelping him, as a physician, to acceptthe inevitable fate of his beloved grand-mother. The healing is mutual for these char-

acters and, as always in Émond’s films,

it is a process that is largely unspoken.Dion attempts to balance compassionand dispassion in her professional selfwhile confronting, on a more personallevel, the deeper and perhaps morespiritual mysteries of life and death,suffering and healing.A more thorough dramatization of

these questions occurs in The Legacy.Its philosophical drama is set in Normè-tal, a small town in the Abitibi region ofQuebec. It begins when the elderlytown doctor, Yves Rainville, becomesill and advertises for a physician toreplace him temporarily. When Diondrives to Normétal to fill the position,she is impressed by Rainville’s philoso-phy of medicine in his modest, butlongstanding practice. She tells him ofhow she feels “outside the suffering” ofher patients, and seeks a way backtoward the more holistic approachadvocated by Hippocrates and seem-ingly embodied by Rainville. As the

CMAJ • APRIL 20, 2010 • 182(7)© 2010 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

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Film

Hippocrates in Quebec: The films of Bernard Émond

In La Donation, Dr. Jeanne Dion, a Montréal, Quebec, emergency department physi-cian, continues to search for a larger meaning within her chosen profession.

DOI:10.1503/cmaj.100422

Les Films Séville / E1 Entertainment

Previously published at www.cmaj.ca

Why decorate walls withaccent colours and bad artwhen you can use the space

to educate the public and students?That’s the thinking behind the proposedpublic health museum (both actual andvirtual) at the School of Population andPublic Health’s newly renovated build-ing at the University of British Colum-bia, Vancouver, BC.“We already have some remarkable

objects,” says Dr. Erica Frank, a pro-fessor at the school and the museum’sorganizer. These include an iron lung,quarantine signs, an old British Colum-bia Centre for Disease Control publichealth laboratory, immunization para-phernalia, the Nobel Peace prize certifi-

cate awarded to the International Physi-cians for Prevention of Nuclear Warand art about mental illness. The build-ing is slated to open in summer 2010.Frank is looking to borrow other pub-

lic health related artifacts (erica.frank@ubc.ca). Many of the objects will be accom-

panied by a narrative and photographof a person who benefited from theobject. For example, a woman whosefather was in an iron lung for two yearswill write about how that experienceallowed her to exist.Another twist is that this summer’s

intern will be Frank’s 12-year-oldson, Ridge Frank-White, who will bemaking a photographic record of all

the objects to put on a website. “Iknow, it’s an age-inappropriate activ-ity,” quips Frank. “But some parentslike to play soccer or hockey withtheir kids; I like to work with mine.”Frank-White has attended all the plan-ning meetings and helped to situatethe exhibit spaces.“It’s going to be great,” says Frank.

“It sure beats hanging trite motivationalposters on the wall.”

Barbara Sibbald BJDeputy editor, analysis and humanitiesCMAJ

Erica Frank is a member of the CMAJeditorial board.

Note

Wanted: Historical artifacts for new public health school

film progresses, she becomes involvedwith his patients and the complexities oftheir medical conditions and their lives.Near the film’s conclusion, she has todecide whether she is prepared to takeon Rainville’s practice permanently.Dion’s twin journeys don’t offer

simplistic resolutions to her profes-sional quandaries, nor do they romanti-cize rural medical practices over urban

ones. What these understated, medita-tive films do register is a sense of med-icine as a vocation with spiritual con-notations, as if the mystery of thehuman soul must be seen to be part ofhow medicine is practised in a worldof advanced scientific technologies andtreatments. Rainville states matter-of-factly that he is “here to serve.” Hishumility appears genuine, tough-

minded and practical for a physician,and it inspires Dion with the quietforce of its example.Émond’s depiction of Dion’s crises,

her sense of her limitations as a doctorand her shaken but not destroyed com-mitment to compassion, is as soberingas it is hopeful. The films intelligently raise impor-

tant moral, ethical and philosophicalquestions about the role of the physi-cian in society. These are the samequestions raised by Hippocrates, ques-tions that are both essential and, in aparadoxical sense, unanswerable. Whatis essential is not their being answeredbut rather the raising and reframing ofthese questions, as medical scienceevolves, in contemporary social con-texts and changing medical practices.Films like The Novena and The Legacycontribute to that process in both usefuland aesthetically impressive ways.

Tom McSorley Executive directorCanadian Film InstituteOttawa, Ont.

Tom McSorley is a sessional lecturer in theDepartment of Film Studies at Carleton Univer-sity, Ottawa, Ont. and film critic for CBC RadioOne’s, Ottawa Morning.

CMAJ • APRIL 20, 2010 • 182(7)© 2010 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

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Humanities

Dion takes on a small-town practice in the Abitibi region of Quebec and discovers theway back toward a more compassionate approach to medicine.

Les Films Séville / E1 Entertainment

DOI:10.1503/cmaj.100165