Shock

Original Title: Concussion Production: Australia, USA, UK 2015 Genre: Biographical, Drama Director: Peter Landesman Screenplay: Peter Landesman Cast: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin Medical Topic: CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), encephalopathy in contact sport players This film tells the true story of a pathologist—Dr. Omalu—who, in 2002 during the autopsy of a former football player, raises the suspicion that frequent head injuries sustained during games contribute to microtraumas in the brain, which lead to accelerated brain degeneration manifested by memory loss, emotional instability, and behavioral disorders. As more and more former players commit suicide, Dr. Omalu writes a scientific paper about his discovery and tries to publicize the issue in the media to raise public awareness. How will a country react to this, where American football is the national sport and the NFL (National Football League) is one of the most powerful corporations in the U.S.? Although the film’s title is somewhat awkwardly translated into Polish—since it refers to a concussion rather than a shock—I still recommend it to medical professionals.