--- product_id: 46028312 title: "The Sessions [Blu-ray]" price: "¥3005" currency: JPY in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/46028312-the-sessions-blu-ray store_origin: JP region: Japan --- # The Sessions [Blu-ray] **Price:** ¥3005 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Sessions [Blu-ray] - **How much does it cost?** ¥3005 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/46028312-the-sessions-blu-ray) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Based on the poignantly optimistic autobiographical writings of California-based journalist and poet Mark O'Brien, THE SESSIONS tells the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined - at age 38 - to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapists and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality. Review: SWEETLY HEARTBREAKING YET SWEETLY INSPIRING - Mark O'Brien was a normal healthy child until he was striken with polio at age 6 and doomed to a lifetime or relying on others for his basic needs and his life-saving iron lung. The story could end there but O'Brien's brilliant mind and joy of living overcame all obstacles. O'Brien is not exactly paralyzed, he explains. It's his muscles that don't work. He can't move his body below his nexk yet he becomes a writer. He has feeling throughout his body but can't touch a person or object. He has a wonderful mind trapped in a body that has abandoned him. THE SESSIONS delves into one aspect of O'Brien's incredible life and the movie takes us on an incredible journey of life, love and hope. At age 38, O'Brien, with much guilty and anxiety, decides to hire a sex surrogate just to finally experience sex and physical closeness. He later wrote an article about this experience which became the basis of this book. We can look at Mark O'Brien with pity or revulsion, as many people did, or we can see him as an inspiration and a joyous creation from God. O'Brien lived an exceptionally long life, despite his condition, and touched the hearts of many. His was a true story of overcoming or at least accepting the worst obstacles life could give anyone. John Hawkes gives tremendous heart and depth to his portrayal of O'Brien. Hawkes went beyond the norm and refused doubles or special effects and turned his own body into the twisted posture of a polio-stricken O'Brien. Helen Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the real-life sex surrogate that changed O'Brien's life for ever. Hunt shows her remarkable acting talents as the surrogate baring not only her heart and soul for the role but her body in very tasteful but somewhat explicit nude and sex scenes. Both Hawkes and Hunt became their roles and the connection between the actors and the real-life characters is clear. Hawkes endearing speech pattern and smile and humor endears us the O'Brien he portrays. We just want to give Hawkes and O'Brien a loving hug and to relish his delightful humorous take on life and his tragic situation. O'Brien's moral dilema is strengthed by scenes with his parrish priest placed by William H. Macy. Macy's role is important as the Catholic priest helping O'Brien wrestle with his shame and embarassment along with his strong desire to experience sex for the first time. Macy's role could have been much more and somehow the priest seems one-dimensional as he listens to O'Brien's stories about the surrogate. Obviously, there is the connection between the two as far as not having sex, except the priest has made a decision to be celibate. O'Brien is trapped in a body that is not fully functional and any chance of a normal loving relationship with a woman seems impossible. THE SESSIONS will break your heart and inspire you at the same time. There is a sweet sadness to the story that is peppered with hopelessness yet the story is full of hope and joy. It is a remarkable story that the actors and writers brought to the big screen. This fine independent film will keep you thinking and wondering. The priest says God will give O'Brien a "pass" on breaking the rules against pre-martital sex because of O'Brien's predicament. The moral dilemma is heartbreaking since there is no one to blame or judge here. The writers treat the story with gentle humor. Hawkes's take on O'Brien is so lively and full of joy. There is an inspirational tone to the entire film that leaves the viewer curious about O'Brien's lifem along with a bittersweet sense of hope. It is a truly wonderful film. The extras on the film are rather limited and involve Helen Hunt and John Hawkes getting into their roles. There is an interview with the real Cheryl Cohen-Greene who talks very briefly about her career as a sexy surrogate. She never mentiones O'Brien and what relationship that had and how their sessions affected her emotionally. The movie leads us to believe they had a spiritual and emotional connection in their few sessions. Cohen-Greene certainly had an immense effect on O'Brien. A brief feature on the real Mark O'Brien would have been an added plus. We're led to believe he found love the last few years of his life, but did he? THE SESSIONS touches the viewer so deeply that we only want more information on Mark O'Brien and his life. The movie opens with scenes of O'Brien "driving" his bed around Berkeley but there is no mention if this is actual footage or not. Truly a remarkable film that leaves so many questions unanswered and has the viewer wanting more. Review: Guided by an Intuitive Sex Surrogate and a Mindful Priest, Mark O'Brien Seals the Libidinal Deal / A Remarkable Film - Mark O'Brien, a gifted poet and writer and the subject of this marvelous biopic, was stricken with polio as a young child. Still maintaining sensitivity to touch, he lost the use of most muscles and lived out his life in an iron lung, with 4 hours a day outside it, aided by a portable respirator. As we meet up with him in this screenplay, he is 38, and what still works are his great mind, his speech, his humor, and his penis. He longs to experience intercourse with a woman, "before the expiration date"-- his great line. Playing this role so excellently and authentically is John Hawkes. Helen Hunt is Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the sex surrogate. She shines here in the most natural, honest way, displaying her nudity and commitment with pure grace, as she helps Mark realize his dream. William H. Macy is also extraordinary as Father Brendan, in whom Mark confides all his romantic and sexual dreams and to whom he recounts all the details of the therapy. Father Brendan compassionately suspends all judgement and becomes a great support for Mark in this sexual journey, adding that he believes God is giving him "a free pass" in this pursuit. Ben Lewin is the wise and insightful writer and director, who utilizes much of Mark's own writing and thoughts in the construction of this exceptional film. In fact, all filmmaking disciplines are on point. The photography is excellent. The acting is brilliant, even in the supporting cast. I have to offer up a serious superlative here-- this is one of the best films ever! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B00ANGICRE | | Actors | Annika Marks, Helen Hunt, John Hawkes, Moon Bloodgood, William H. Macy | | Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | | Best Sellers Rank | #19,697 in Movies & TV ( See Top 100 in Movies & TV ) #2,283 in Drama Blu-ray Discs | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,900) | | Director | Ben Lewin | | Dubbed: | French, Spanish | | Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No | | Item model number | 10422342 | | Media Format | Blu-ray, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen | | Number of discs | 1 | | Product Dimensions | 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.29 ounces | | Release date | January 6, 2015 | | Run time | 1 hour and 35 minutes | | Studio | Fox Searchlight | | Subtitles: | English, French, Spanish | ## Product Details - **Contributor:** Annika Marks, Ben Lewin, Helen Hunt, John Hawkes, Moon Bloodgood, William H. Macy - **Format:** Blu-ray, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen - **Genre:** Drama - **Language:** English - **Runtime:** 1 hour and 35 minutes ## Images ![The Sessions [Blu-ray] - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81FCgIX5yXL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ SWEETLY HEARTBREAKING YET SWEETLY INSPIRING *by J***C on February 28, 2013* Mark O'Brien was a normal healthy child until he was striken with polio at age 6 and doomed to a lifetime or relying on others for his basic needs and his life-saving iron lung. The story could end there but O'Brien's brilliant mind and joy of living overcame all obstacles. O'Brien is not exactly paralyzed, he explains. It's his muscles that don't work. He can't move his body below his nexk yet he becomes a writer. He has feeling throughout his body but can't touch a person or object. He has a wonderful mind trapped in a body that has abandoned him. THE SESSIONS delves into one aspect of O'Brien's incredible life and the movie takes us on an incredible journey of life, love and hope. At age 38, O'Brien, with much guilty and anxiety, decides to hire a sex surrogate just to finally experience sex and physical closeness. He later wrote an article about this experience which became the basis of this book. We can look at Mark O'Brien with pity or revulsion, as many people did, or we can see him as an inspiration and a joyous creation from God. O'Brien lived an exceptionally long life, despite his condition, and touched the hearts of many. His was a true story of overcoming or at least accepting the worst obstacles life could give anyone. John Hawkes gives tremendous heart and depth to his portrayal of O'Brien. Hawkes went beyond the norm and refused doubles or special effects and turned his own body into the twisted posture of a polio-stricken O'Brien. Helen Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the real-life sex surrogate that changed O'Brien's life for ever. Hunt shows her remarkable acting talents as the surrogate baring not only her heart and soul for the role but her body in very tasteful but somewhat explicit nude and sex scenes. Both Hawkes and Hunt became their roles and the connection between the actors and the real-life characters is clear. Hawkes endearing speech pattern and smile and humor endears us the O'Brien he portrays. We just want to give Hawkes and O'Brien a loving hug and to relish his delightful humorous take on life and his tragic situation. O'Brien's moral dilema is strengthed by scenes with his parrish priest placed by William H. Macy. Macy's role is important as the Catholic priest helping O'Brien wrestle with his shame and embarassment along with his strong desire to experience sex for the first time. Macy's role could have been much more and somehow the priest seems one-dimensional as he listens to O'Brien's stories about the surrogate. Obviously, there is the connection between the two as far as not having sex, except the priest has made a decision to be celibate. O'Brien is trapped in a body that is not fully functional and any chance of a normal loving relationship with a woman seems impossible. THE SESSIONS will break your heart and inspire you at the same time. There is a sweet sadness to the story that is peppered with hopelessness yet the story is full of hope and joy. It is a remarkable story that the actors and writers brought to the big screen. This fine independent film will keep you thinking and wondering. The priest says God will give O'Brien a "pass" on breaking the rules against pre-martital sex because of O'Brien's predicament. The moral dilemma is heartbreaking since there is no one to blame or judge here. The writers treat the story with gentle humor. Hawkes's take on O'Brien is so lively and full of joy. There is an inspirational tone to the entire film that leaves the viewer curious about O'Brien's lifem along with a bittersweet sense of hope. It is a truly wonderful film. The extras on the film are rather limited and involve Helen Hunt and John Hawkes getting into their roles. There is an interview with the real Cheryl Cohen-Greene who talks very briefly about her career as a sexy surrogate. She never mentiones O'Brien and what relationship that had and how their sessions affected her emotionally. The movie leads us to believe they had a spiritual and emotional connection in their few sessions. Cohen-Greene certainly had an immense effect on O'Brien. A brief feature on the real Mark O'Brien would have been an added plus. We're led to believe he found love the last few years of his life, but did he? THE SESSIONS touches the viewer so deeply that we only want more information on Mark O'Brien and his life. The movie opens with scenes of O'Brien "driving" his bed around Berkeley but there is no mention if this is actual footage or not. Truly a remarkable film that leaves so many questions unanswered and has the viewer wanting more. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Guided by an Intuitive Sex Surrogate and a Mindful Priest, Mark O'Brien Seals the Libidinal Deal / A Remarkable Film *by N***L on November 28, 2016* Mark O'Brien, a gifted poet and writer and the subject of this marvelous biopic, was stricken with polio as a young child. Still maintaining sensitivity to touch, he lost the use of most muscles and lived out his life in an iron lung, with 4 hours a day outside it, aided by a portable respirator. As we meet up with him in this screenplay, he is 38, and what still works are his great mind, his speech, his humor, and his penis. He longs to experience intercourse with a woman, "before the expiration date"-- his great line. Playing this role so excellently and authentically is John Hawkes. Helen Hunt is Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the sex surrogate. She shines here in the most natural, honest way, displaying her nudity and commitment with pure grace, as she helps Mark realize his dream. William H. Macy is also extraordinary as Father Brendan, in whom Mark confides all his romantic and sexual dreams and to whom he recounts all the details of the therapy. Father Brendan compassionately suspends all judgement and becomes a great support for Mark in this sexual journey, adding that he believes God is giving him "a free pass" in this pursuit. Ben Lewin is the wise and insightful writer and director, who utilizes much of Mark's own writing and thoughts in the construction of this exceptional film. In fact, all filmmaking disciplines are on point. The photography is excellent. The acting is brilliant, even in the supporting cast. I have to offer up a serious superlative here-- this is one of the best films ever! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fictionalized version of the true story of a remarkable man and the people that had an impact upon him *by J***E on September 19, 2016* Really good movie. Yes, Helen Hunt does a lot of nude scenes, but, if you can get over your sophomoric urges, John Hawkes does a wonderful job portraying a severely handicapped man who has adapted to his condition and demonstrates a whimsical, humorous outlook on life (no curmudgeonly, angry, dismissive stereotype here), and we see how his caregivers deal with his moods and physical needs on a daily basis. And the physical needs issue gets explored further as we discover that he is a man of faith and spends time at his local church (he's Catholic, but it is a secondary attribute in this story). We get introduced to the cool, hip Priest (William H. Macy) and through his interactions with the priest, we discover that the issue of sex is becoming a central issue for Hawkes' character. After some introductory scenes with his psychologist, he gets introduced to Helen Hunt's character who is a sex surrogate. The remainder of the movie deals with the sometimes awkward, sometimes humorous and always touching relationship that develops between John Hawkes and Helen Hunt. It is a well written, poignant and intelligent story of a lonely man's quest for normalcy and the people in his life who help him to lead a dignified, full, albeit brief, life. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.jp/products/46028312-the-sessions-blu-ray](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/46028312-the-sessions-blu-ray) --- *Product available on Desertcart Japan* *Store origin: JP* *Last updated: 2026-04-24*