# Help MeFind This Obscure Documentary! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-mefind-this-obscure-documentary/236646 "2004-03-26T22:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-mefind-this-obscure-documentary/236646/1 "2004-03-26T22:31:04Z")
I saw this a few years ago on BRAVO, I believe. It was a documentary (by a group of NYU film school students) about the descent into madness,of a young woman in NYC. This woman had been well-educated (a BA in classics), and had been the first woman to drive one of those horse-and-carriages that ride around Central Park. Anyway, she had actually been on TV (interviewed by Dick Cavett), but went bonkers…by the end of the film, she was living as a homeless person in Central Park, witha shopping cart full of old clothes. She was nuts-convinced that she was the goddess Diana, she babbled on about how she had the power to turn winter into spring. It was a powerful (and very disturbing narrative). Anybody see it? Is it available on disc? Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-mefind-this-obscure-documentary/236646/2 "2004-03-26T22:46:49Z")
I do believe you’re thinking of **[Jupiter’s Wife](http://imdb.com/title/tt0110217/)**, directed by Michael Negroponte, which tells the story of Maggie Cogan. The plot summary at Amazon says: > [@](#): > > This quietly poignant 1994 documentary chronicles the life of Maggie, an intelligent and enigmatic homeless woman on the streets of New York City, and the relationship she develops with the filmmaker, who attempts to piece together the threads of her life story. The director narrates his search for answers to Maggie’s past, using interviews with friends and acquaintances as well as archival footage, from a newsreel of his subject in the 1960s driving a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park to her appearance on a popular game show, all in an effort to understand how this woman ended up homeless. More importantly, director Michel Negroponte takes his cues in unraveling the mystery from Maggie herself, documenting her beliefs that she is the daughter of 1940s matinee idol Robert Ryan and the wife of the ancient Roman god Jupiter. In stark vérité style, the film follows Maggie’s search for stability and peace, taking care of stray dogs and finding a place she can call home. Sometimes sad, sometimes hopeful, and startlingly original, Jupiter’s Wife is a compassionate real-life portrayal of survival in the modern age. Also according to [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018YCK0/), it’s coming out on DVD on March 30. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-mefind-this-obscure-documentary/236646/3 "2004-03-28T12:18:25Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > I do believe you’re thinking of **[Jupiter’s Wife](http://imdb.com/title/tt0110217/)**, directed by Michael Negroponte, which tells the story of Maggie Cogan. The plot summary at Amazon says: Also according to [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018YCK0/), it’s coming out on DVD on March 30. I never would have found this by myself! Thanks again-I’m going to get the movie. 😃