ALL THE RAGE: SAVED BY SARNO

It was great to catch up with Michael Galinsky. We had spoken before about his doc, BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN, which is an incisive examination of gentrification in general, and in the promises made to a community in order to smooth the way for a professional sport arena, and the reluctant activist who saw through the hype.  His latest, ALL THE RAGE: SAVED BY SARNO is no less incisive, but much more personal. In it, he introduces Dr. John Sarno’s paradigm-shaking treatment for chronic pain, one that acknowledges the mind-body connection. Decried by the medical establishment, when he is recognized by it at all, Sarno’s method provided an all but miraculous cure for Galinsky’s brother, and achieved amazing results for Galinsky himself.

When we spoke on June 8, 2017, Galinksy started the conversation by giving me an example of just how hard it is for advocates of the mind-body approach to pain management. It’s something Galinsky has dubbed “willful blindness.”

We went on to talk about why he started the limitations of seeing-is-believing as methodology; Sarno’s first inklings of the mind-body connection causing pain; the recalcitrance of the id; Pfizer’s misstep; grief as an immunosuppressant;  rehabilitating the concept of psychosomatic symptoms; and the power of activating belief

We finished up with Galinsky describing his “aha” moment about how to make this film; why he refused to create villains; the influence of the efficiency economy; the financial costs of the pain epidemic; the power of framing; revealing so much about himself and his emotions; and a precis of his other new film, WORKING IN PROTEST, a doc 30 years in the making.

 ALL THE RAGE is his documentary, co-directed with Suki Hawley about the alternate theory of curing chronic pain pioneered by Dr. John Sarno, one that recognized the mind-body connection. Ignored by the medical establishment, Sarno’s method has achieved remarkable results, including for Galnisky whose story is an integral part of his film. Thought-provoking, inspiring, and provocative, Galinsky’s film considers the restrictive role of paradigms in science, and the consequences of following them blindly. Galinsky’s previous work includes BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN, which was short-listed for the Academy Award, and HORNS AND HALOS.