One flew over the cuckoo's nest

A strict routine prevails on the closed ward of a mental hospital. Nurse Ratched runs her ward with iron rigor, creates psychological dependencies and skilfully plays off the suffering of her patients against each other until they are disillusioned, almost numb and unwilling to do as they are told.


When a new patient, Randle McMurphy, is admitted to the ward, the strict


order is soon thrown out of kilter. McMurphy quickly questions the "system" of nurse


Ratched, resists the methods and the strict order and routine on the ward and causes a great deal of unrest among the patients. Encouraged by


McMurphy's rebellious behavior, they gradually gain new courage and


self-confidence and finally reclaim their mental and physical freedom. An uprising breaks out on the ward. However, Nurse Ratched has no intention of relinquishing her power over the patients and her ward. She is able to go to great lengths to enforce her "system".


"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", named after a nursery rhyme, is a subtle


tragicomedy that asks, among other things, who actually has the right to rule over others and why. Can the power of the individual over the many be at all conducive to a self-defined and free life? These are questions that are highly topical again today.