It's a good movie. The acting is not terrible. It is a bit romanticized and idealistic, yet has some valid historical insight and analysis. It touches briefly on the unimaginable dreary sufferings of what everyday life must be for the severely disabled, their caretakers, and their families. It touches briefly on social class, gender role issues, and the divide between medicine and humanity. Even religion is touched on. None of these are easy subjects to make 'entertainment' out of to begin with. I think maybe any person's life is too big for a 2 hour movie, or a 10 hour one. I would say they have done it about as well as it could be done and I can think of few movies who have tackled so many issues better. Above all, it probes what one 'life' essentially is.