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A Lion in the House

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by Jaya Jiwatram
The word ‘cancer’ alone is already daunting, and when a four-hour long documentary is about the life-threatening illness, and on top of that children who have it, it’s going to be a crushing experience. Vividly compelling and fiercely emotional, A Lion in the House is a poignant reminder of our own frailty as we follow the harrowing journeys of five children undergoing cancer treatment in the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre. Yet in that frailty, husband-and-wife directors Steve Bognar and Julia Reichert reveal courage, resiliency and strength, qualities that are epitomized by the true lions of the documentary – the patients of ward 54.

Here, we meet the chatty, quick-witted 15-year-old Tim Woods, the bubbly, delightfully adorable 7-year-old Alex Lougheed, and the gutsy, forward-speaking 19-year-old Justin Ashcraft, who even after a decade of treatment still faces each one with pluck and optimism. All three have already gone through at least one cycle of treatment and remission, and when contrasted later with the quiet 6-year-old Jen Moone and fast-thinking 11-year-old Al Fields, who are introduced at the beginning of their journeys, the pressure of time looming in the background is swiftly felt. The stories that then run alongside each other almost seem like a race to the end, as one narrative thread feeds off another to reveal the hopes, dreams, fears and anxieties of the children, some of whom survive and others of whom must stare death in the face.

What makes this documentary more than just a behind-the-scenes view of children in an oncology ward though, is the comprehensive overview of all those affected by the life-changing effects of cancer. Invited by Dr. Robert Arceci, then the hospital’s chief oncologist, to follow five patients and their families, Bognar and Reichert spent six years shooting both inside and outside the hospital to reveal some of the deeper, underlying issues behind the illness. While one mother gives up her career to take care of her child, for instance, another clings on to her job to maintain her medical benefits. Aside from the socioeconomic factors, the ethical, psychological and philosophical ones also weave their way in, adding a deep emotional strain on some family ties and solidifying others. One of the toughest questions that arise is: At what point is it time to say, enough is enough? Even the highly compassionate doctors and medical staff, many of whom have been in the field for a while, have to struggle with this question every single time.

In the meantime, patients old enough to make a decision have to face equally difficult questions about their own life, the most striking of which is revealed with Tim. Admitting at the start that he liked the attention and later discarding his medication, Tim at first doesn’t realize – or doesn’t choose to admit – the gravity of his illness. After enough trips to the hospital though and the worsening condition of his health, he matures fast, and takes decisions into his own hand, plainly accepting what needs to be done as the next step.

As heart-tugging as the documentary is, Bognar and Reichert, whose daughter is a childhood cancer survivor, do not exploit their subjects. There’s no denying there are vividly unsettling moments that are hard to bare – brain-surgery, open-casket funerals, patients at their physically and emotionally worst moments – but they serve to move the narration along with an honest, no-frills attached openness that seeks not to mask the realities of cancer. And, in that candidness the axiomatic tagline of the film, “you know you are truly alive when you are living among the lions”, couldn’t ring more true.
Not rated

Dir. Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, 2005 , US, 225 mins

Cast: Dr. Robert Arceci, Adam Ashcraft, Dale Ashcraft, Debbie Ashcraft, Justin Ashcraft, Dr. Victor Balasa, Dr, Cyndi DeLaat, Al Fields, Regina Fields, Dr. Malini Gillen, Dr. Fred Huang, Dr. Paul Jublinsky, Connie Koons, Alex Lougheed, Jackie Lougheed, Judy Lougheed, Scott Lougheed, Dr. Claire Mazewski, Beth Moone, Frank Moone, Jen Moone, Linda Pollman, Jennifer Roller, Marietha Woods, Tim Woods, Dr. Ted Zwerdling.

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