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“The old adage that no great movie is too long applies in spades to A Lion in the House, an astonishing four-hour documentary that takes on a very difficult subject - children with cancer - and renders it with unflinching intimacy and uncommon compassion...” - Variety
‘Cancer' is a word that we all dread to hear from the mouth of a doctor, especially when the patient being diagnosed is a seven-year-old child. A Lion in the House follows the experience of five families with children attending the Cincinnati Children's Hospital paediatric cancer ward.
As the parents struggle to carry on their lives amid a roller coaster of cancer remission and relapse, we also see an uncommonly human side of the hospital's medical staff; behind the scenes their professional veneers slip as they deal with the daily toll of their work.
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Ultimately the film transcends its subject matter to become a study of the human condition; a cathartic meditation on death, courage and learning to let go.
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D/P Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar WS Films Transit International TD Video/2006/230mins
Julia Reichert was born in New Jersey, USA, in 1946. Her films include Union Maids (1976, doco) and Seeing Red (1983, doco). Steven Bognar was born in Milwaukee, USA, in 1963. His films include Personal Belongings (1996, doco) and Picture Day (2000, doco).
