Methadonia
(Documentary/Drugs)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: B- Documentary: B
In the
1960s, illegal drugs were sold as something wonderful and substance abuse was
simply considered “experimenting” at the time, but the truth caught up with the
hype and after the Psychedelic 1960s and Wild 1970s gave way to the conceited
cocaine 1980s, the very nature and potency of already problematic substances
became worse. One of them has always
been heroine and a current treatment is the use of methadone as a substitute
for the actual drug without its dangerous side effects. Unfortunately, they consider it “liquid
handcuffs” and Michel Negroponte’s Methadonia
(2005) looks into the lives of several addicts who take very different courses
in their treatment or lack thereof.
The one
group for those afflicted even has a former addict running it and she is great
at calling things as she sees them because she has no delusions about what is
going on and knows all the tricks in the book about what an addict will do. She also has vital ground rules for the
meetings that separate them from the satire of such groups in David Fincher’s Fight Club, and it is all real. If they cannot follow rules, they are thrown
out of the group. If they cannot even
follow those, how can they have the discipline to get better?
In an
increasing bid to keep everyone in the clouds and in a false sense of
happiness, the media has been ignoring such people and that too makes the
situation worse. It is one thing to
glorify, another to ignore to the point of not caring in any way, shape or
form. This hard-hitting documentary
originally appeared on HBO and is a clear, honest look at the state of things
today for such people and the society around them. Street knowledge should never be assumed on
the part of anyone and that is why Methadonia
works, because it has something somewhere everyone can learn from and it is
better to learn then be in a chemical trap for life.
The 1.33
X 1 image is problematic with a lack of detail and a bit more digititis than we
would like to see in NTSC-to-DVD transfers.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is not as bad and pretty well recorded for
location shooting. Extras include a
follow-up piece on the persons dealing with addiction, other resources to learn
about and get help, text director’s note and text director’s biography. This is a solid DVD of a key work that gives
us a better grasp of what addiction can do and how a society can help by
recognizing it in the proper, healthy way to bring solutions for the suffering.
- Nicholas Sheffo
