Educational Media Reviews Online

Descending with Angels depicts the treatments received by two Muslim patients who were experiencing psychological difficulties. In the one case the treatment is provided by the established mental health services of Denmark under court ordered intervention following legal difficulties encountered by the patient. In the second a patient is being seen by an Islamic religious leader for the removal of jinn induced difficulties which had effected many areas of his life. The film depicts the ways in which these two patients saw their treatment and allows the providers of these treatment modalities to discuss some aspects of the case with which they are involved.

This documentary tackles a significant issue of perennial conflict in the field of psychology, involving religious rights versus scientifically approved treatment for mental disorders. It discusses the issue in a setting that is not usually addressed in the western world. As Islamic migration and Islamic religious expression becomes more common in the West these issues will also become more common. A fair and balanced presentation of both scientific mental health approaches and religiously supervised spiritual interventions are included.

The negatives though outweigh the positives, except for highly specialized audiences who are involved in the specific areas of the film. The basis of the film is essentially conversations in non-English languages with a few scenes involving religiously mediated jinn removal practices which are not fully discussed. The subtitling in English has poor visual contrast in many areas of the film and does not adequately translate the sometimes confusing audio activity, making it difficult for the non-Arabic speaker to grasp the nuances of some of the Arabic portions. There is no identification or background information of the key figures involved in either model of treatment beyond some labelling of the facility involved. In neither case is the patient’s information presented in a useful manner for treatment intervention. Cutting between the two scenarios is seemingly random which allows little ability to compare and contrast the two methods in a way which would be useful for treatment specialists. Although there are a few scenes where the medical providers are reviewing what appears to be religious intervention videos, there is little discussion to assist the viewer in coming to any conclusions. In the end neither the spiritual approach nor the medical model are discussed clearly enough for an average audience to develop meaningful insight into the issues involved beyond the realization that an issue of importance exists.

Overall this film is recommended with significant reservations for highly specialized mental health care workers with enough background in Arabic to follow the audio portions or as supportive material for mental health treatment training programs. It is not for the general public or even introductory level academic audiences. This film would have benefitted greatly from supportive additional features which could have addressed some of the deficiencies noted.

Awards

• Special Student Award RAI International Ethnographic Film Festival