Our Lucky Hours

Synopsis

Martine Deyres focuses on the asylum in Saint-Alban, Lozère, which notably avoided the fate of 45,000 patients who died in French psychiatric hospitals between 1939 and 1945. The film features archival films and firsthand accounts from staff, revealing the political courage and artistic vision that shaped the institution. Key figures such as Paul Eluard, Tristan Tzara, and Georges Canguilhem played significant roles in the movement of institutional psychotherapy, influencing perceptions of madness and the field of psychiatry during a critical historical period.