The Inner World of Aphasia
The Inner World of Aphasia is a 1968 medical training film made by Edward and Naomi Feil. It follows people with aphasia and how they cope with communication difficulties.
The story centers on Marge Nelson, a nurse who is tired and sometimes unkind to patients. After an accident, she suffers brain damage and develops aphasia herself, learning to communicate again in the same hospital. She discovers that staff often lack empathy, but a second patient with aphasia becomes a friend. Through this friendship and her own determination, Marge begins to recover and gains a new outlook on life.
The film was praised for showing the real experiences of patients and for highlighting how 1960s hospitals treated people with aphasia. It was noted for focusing on the subjective experience of being aphasic, and for using flashbacks and sound effects to convey that experience. It won the Golden Eagle from CINE in 1968; in 1969 nursing groups recommended it for nurses and nursing students; in 2015 it was added to the National Film Registry.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 04:26 (CET).