Educational Media Reviews Online

At its most basic, A Summer in the Cage chronicles Sam Murchison’s struggle with bipolar disorder. Under the expert craftsmanship of filmmaker Ben Selkow, the film develops into the multi-layered diaries of both Ben and Sam as they create a story of friendship, a story about filmmaking, and a story about mental illness.

Covering approximately six years, from 2000 to 2006, what starts as a joint project to make a documentary about street basketball in New York’s famous Greenwich Village street court “The Cage,” morphs into a film about Sam and his illness. Sam and Ben’s friendship grows, and as Sam begins to exhibit more extreme symptoms of manic-depression, it changes. As the two of them travel between New York and California (where Sam’s family lives) their relationship and the film intensify. Both Sam and Ben are creative souls challenged by the specter of mental illness. For Sam, it is trying to live “…the outstanding life you really want…” as he struggles to take the medication he feels dulls his spirit; and deals with family guilt. For Ben it is figuring out the best way to support Sam and where to set the boundaries necessary for filming and for his own well-being. The climax of the film comes during one of Sam’s manic episodes when he reveals to a group of strangers in Central Park that his father had the same disorder and committed suicide. This event serves to gel the story together and serves as a platform for understanding the extreme depressions and manic highs the disease produces.

Including the expert counsel of Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a Johns Hopkins psychiatrist, is a brilliant idea on Selkow’s part. Dr. Jamison provides the medically authoritative background on manic-depressive illness as well as first-hand knowledge since she suffers from the same disorder. In fact, bipolar disorder is quite common in the U.S.

A Summer in the Cage is intense. It comes at you in waves of depression, and rage, and joy, and love. Selkow’s filming techniques create the connection with extreme close-ups and his use of light, darkness, and shading. Look for future releases from this talented filmmaker.

In an academic setting, the film will be a wonderful addition to library collections supporting the health sciences, particularly social work, nursing, medicine, and allied health programs. The scenes of Sam’s manic episodes will be especially helpful for classroom discussions of bipolar disorder. The film includes strong language which may offend some viewers.