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Films and Film clips

Film: Still Alice

Still Alice (2014) is a film about dementia. Julianne Moore plays Alice Howland, a 50-year-old professor whose life is turned upside down when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
A scene from the film "Still Alice". Photo.
Image: SF Norge, Norgesfilm AS / Restricted right of use

Alzheimer's disease is a condition of gradual and irreversible loss of cerebral nerve cells. It is the most common cause of dementia. The consequences of the loss of nerve cells are: memory loss, impairment of cognitive functions and changes in personality. According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, approximately 70,000 people in Norway suffer from dementia.

Watch the film (1 h 41 mins.)

Questions for the film:

  1. There are many different types of dementia. Name three different types and describe what characterizes them.
  2. What are the most common symptoms of dementia?
  3. What kind of symptoms can we see in the film?
  4. Is there a medical treatment for dementia?
  5. What do you think it is like to receive this kind of diagnosis at such a young age?
  6. How would you explain the condition of dementia to the patient's family?
  7. What are the key principles for communicating with people with dementia?
  8. How did Alice's family react?
  9. How did this condition affect the lives of her family?
  10. In the film Alice says that she would rather have had cancer. Reflect on this statement.
  11. What was the purpose of the video that Alice made for herself?

These questions were written by students in one of our pilot classes at Tvedestrand and Åmli high school, 2 HFA 16/17.