Review of The Last Shaman (2017) by Emile W — 17 Jul 2018

The only time mental illness features into a Hollywood production is when it has to do with serial killing, mass shootings, and incarceration, with the subject of the film portrayed invariably as some kind of monster.

This version of mental illness is one of Hollywood's most popular staples, and continues to perpetuate the stigma and shame associated it. Yet there are literally millions of people around the world who suffer from mental illnesses who do not commit serial murder, and unspeakable acts of violence.

Instead, many of them suffer in silence due to popular cultures' fixation on the criminally insane, and do not seek help for this reason. What makes this film different and truly groundbreaking is that it humanizes mental illness, instead of heaping more shame upon it.

I laud the young Mr. Freeman for the courage it took to bare his soul to the world and talk about something most in his situation are too afraid to talk about. This is not a story about Ayahuasca - it's a story about one man's search for meaning in a modern world that puts a very high premium on the pursuit of ambition and "success", and the profound and unrelenting depression that can occur as a result.

It was not the Ayahuasca that helped to heal him - it was the relationship he had with his last Shaman that did. Leaving the United States produced a shift in his perspective of the world, allowing him to see how other people live, especially those who have NOT been raised with the American notion of ambition and success - people, who much to his surprise, seemed happy, well adjusted, and relatively devoid of suffering.

This is a very important film in that it opens up a discussion about mental illness in our society as it is for most. Thanks to Mr.s Freeman and Degan.