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Augusto, an economist, and Michaela, a linguist, were a well educated, well to do, multi-lingual couple with a little son named Lorenzo who was precocious beyond his years. He spoke English and Italian fluently, as well as the language spoken in the community in Africa in which he spent his very early years. When he returned to the United States at about the age of five, his behavior started to change He came overly aggressive and given to emotional outbursts. After much angst on the part of the Odones over what could be wrong, they were finally told that their son suffered from ALD, which was the functional equivalent of having their son being given a death sentence, as there was no cure for this degenerative disease.
This well educated couple refused to accept the death sentence meted out to their son by the medical establishment. With no medical background, they disregarded conventional medical wisdom and went about trying to find a cure for their son, in a quest so remarkable and so moving, as to inspire absolute awe in the viewer. A more caring or loving set of parents would be hard to find. Lorenzo is surely loved. Together, Augusto and Michaela take on the medical establishment. What they ended up discovering rocked the medical world. To find out just what it was that they specifically did, you will just have to watch the movie.
Director George Miller does a masterful job in directing this film, avoiding the obvious sentimental traps and playing the film out in a very straightforward way. The ravages of this disease are fully played out and are not sugarcoated in any way. Nick Nolte gives a bravura performance as Augusto Odone, though his Italian accent needs a little work. He is superb as the father who transfers his emotion to the task of learning biochemistry in order to ascertain just what factors are at the root of his son's disease. His way of dealing with his son's illness is intellectual and methodical.
Susan Sarandon is sensational as Michaela Odone, a woman of such strength, resolution, and determination that it would be hard to find another like her. Her pain is palpable, as she sees her son deteriorate, but she refuses to take the path of least resistance where Lorenzo is concerned. In the face of daunting odds, she perseveres with Lorenzo, talking to him, as well as stimulating and challenging him. A notable performance is also given by Kathleen Wilhuite who plays the part of Dierdre Murphy, Michaela's sister and Lorenzo's loving aunt.
This is a sensational film that avoids all the maudlin, sentimental traps laid out in the formulaic disease of the week movies one often finds. This is a deftly directed, well acted film, informative and moving. It is a film that will stay with the viewer, long after the credits have rolled off the screen. This is a film that richly deserves a transfer to DVD. Bravo!
"About Lorenzo, his Parents, and Oumouri
(in answer to the many questions we receive)
Lorenzo celebrated his 25th birthday on May 29, 2003. He is deprived of most of his functions, but his mind is still there. Lorenzo communicates through blinking his eyelids to say no and wiggling his fingers to say yes. He enjoys music and being read to. Lorenzo will not regain his speech or full mobility until we are successful with remyelination.
Michaela succumbed to cancer in June 2000. Augusto, who continues the fight for his son, works out of his office at Myelin Project Headquarters located in Dunn Loring, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C.
Lorenzo likes to receive mail from his ?friends? and well-wishers. You may write to him c/o The Myelin Project, 2136 Gallows Road, Suite E, Dunn Loring, Virginia 22027."
I encourage you to visit this web site where you can get an update on The Myelin Project, make a donation to
The Myelin Project, read a letter from Augusto Odone dated 02/19/04, and see pictures of Lorenzo, his Parents, and Oumouri.
The Odones are a professional power couple. Augusto (Nolte) has adult children from a previous marriage. He and his wife have one child together, young Lorenzo.
Lorenzo had the benefit of being raised by highly intellectual and caring, multi-lingual parents. Since Augusto Odone is a financial wizard for the World Bank, which provides not only a comfortable, but worldly life for the family now small family. Lorenzo grows up in Africa, speaking English and Italian fluently and being fully conversant in the language spoken by his classmates in Africa.
When Lorenzo reaches school age, his parents return to the United States and Lorenzo starts school. Suddenly, a child who has grown up fearless and extroverted with others of all ages and cultures is having emotional outbursts in class and getting into fights.
After it becomes clear that there is a physical reason behind his behavior, not an emotional one, his parents take him to every doctor they can find until they hear that their child has the medical equivalent of a death sentence.
As a financial expert and a linguist, the medically ignorant Odones are faced with a a problem they don't see a solution for. Their child has a rare disease, so rare, it is financially prohibitive for pharmaceutical companies to invest millions and perhaps even billions on developing a cure. The disease, adrenoleukodystrophy, also known as ALD, is inherited by males from their mothers. It begins to rear its head when boys are around 5, destroying the myelin sheath surrounding all nerves, making movement, and even the functioning of the 5 senses slowly disappear.
The Odones cannot cope with the responses they are getting from the medical community - everywhere they turn, the answer is always the same - there is no treatment, there is no cure, and your child will die a horrible death. They refuse to accept defeat sitting down and, the Odones investigate and learn all they can about the disease that is slowly destroying Lorenzo. They soon become experts on the disease and make medical breakthroughs and discoveries not persued by scientists in the past and they soon get attention from the medical community who are in awe of their progress.
I can't say much more without revealing the crux of the story, but this is a film that will inspire anyone who sees it to never quit and not to be defeated when told that what they want to accomplish is impossible.
The film is an emotional rollercoaster, but one you'll never regret viewing, There are films that stick with you for a lifetime and this is one of those films. When you are facing impossible odds and you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, this is the film to watch... it ignites inspiration and optimism.
In addition to being an inspirational tear-jerker, the performances are incredible. Nolte's performance in this film is one of the best of his career. A stupendous film that isn't all about jerking tears from your head. There are moments when you feel like jumping out of your seat and cheering. This film should be in every family's library.
