Dignity: A Study of Schizophrenia

In Lorian T. Elbert's Dignity: A Study of Schizophrenia, a “documentary about people who live and work in two homes for the mentally ill in Seattle,” 24 interviewees--patients and staff--are asked the following questions: “Who are schizophrenics?” and “What is it like to live in homes for schizophrenics?” Simply put, the answers are: all kinds of people, and: no picnic. Not unlike the HBO production Bellevue Inside Out (VL-3/02), the story here largely unfolds through filming the principals and allowing them to tell their own stories (which emerges from their bearing and appearance as much as their words). The program notes on the case insert promise “profound insight into the disorder while striving to help change people's attitudes toward mental illness, ” but while the insight is certainly there, it's questionable as to whether the stark footage of the patients will necessarily build sympathy or understanding for the victims of schizophrenia. Although they frequently reveal their innate humanity, many of the clips remind us that schizophrenic patients are…well, scary. But perhaps that's the point: otherwise sympathetic human beings are rendered scary by this illness, for which less than 50% of patients (including bipolar) are treated and 10% commit suicide. A chilling portrait of madness, this is recommended. [Note: also newly available, at the same price, the sequel Dignity II.] Aud: H, C, P. (M. Tribby)