Robert De Niro and Robin Williams star in this powerful dramatisation of neurologist Oliver Sacks's book, based on his real-life success in "awakening" patients who had been trapped in a comatose state for over 30 years after contracting sleeping sickness in the 1920s. Williams shows his versatility by playing the shy scientist, though it was De Niro who got the Oscar nomination. Too upbeat for some tastes, Penny Marshall's film got mixed reviews on its release, but still earned an Oscar nomination for best picture. An absorbing treatment of an intriguing subject.

Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.