On July 1, 1963, 846 young men entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. The United States was at peace at the time. When 583 cadets graduated on June 7, 1967, the Vietnam War was escalating. The documentary explores the lives and experiences of the men who attended West Point from 1963-1967 and fought in Vietnam after their graduation.
As the film opens, a ninety-year-old Louis van Gasteren—a documentary filmmaker and artist famed in the Netherlands—is seated in a video editing suite, watching scenes of himself in the 1960s, a time when “anything was possible.” He reflects on how much he has changed, and that he is that same person and yet is not.
The documentary begins with the history of pandemics. Following this Dr. Tom Jefferson an (epidemiologist) describes how pandemics occur. After this is describe and compared with other pandemics alerts like the hong kong flu and the 1976 swine flu outbreak. The documentary follows how the political interest, pharmaceutical industry and the WHO benefit from peoples fears.
“Shadows and Illuminations” paints a portrait of Nyoman Kereta, a rural Balinese man in his late sixties who, by psychiatric standards, suffers from a psychotic-like illness. He experiences auditory and visual hallucinations that are a source of great distress, prevent him from tilling his rice fields, and isolate him from his family and fellow villagers. Through the lens of local Balinese standards, he is seen as haunted by spirit visitations that villagers interpret within the frame of their culture and religion.