Hidden Pictures

Filmmaker Delaney Ruston, MD, whose 2010 documentary Unlisted was a cinematic memoir about her late schizophrenic father, author-poet Richard Ruston, here travels around the world to assess the state of the mentally ill (perhaps as many as 450 million are afflicted globally) and how they are treated by their respective cultures. Mostly, her findings are sad. In India, despite (or because of) strong family systems, schizophrenics are hidden away, judged unworthy for all-important marriages. In South Africa, a native woman suffering from bipolar disorder gains no benefit from the worthless potions of shamanic tribal "healers" (who believe evil spirits to be responsible); fortunately, she receives a second chance with psychotropic drugs. In China, Ruston finds an apparently normal, well-educated man lodged indefinitely in an institution mainly because of some personal disagreement with his parents. And even in France, supposedly a bastion of progressive psychiatry, a schizophrenic man remains a jobless outcast. Although one might fairly ask whether such sample cases are representative of the big picture, Dr. Ruston's plea for more understanding and compassion for the mentally ill is compelling. Actress Glenn Close (whose sister has grappled with schizophrenia) also appears to add her voice in this strong mental-health-advocacy documentary. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)