Educational Media Reviews Online

Ca Tourne Dans Ma Tete (Racing Thoughts) is a documentary from The National Film Board of Canada. Their films are rarely on the common topic, and likewise, rarely disappoint. When Canadian director Louiselle Noel was diagnosed as bipolar as an adult she decided her next project would document bipolar children/young adults and their families. Sometimes a double edged sword, in this case she uses her personal knowledge of the subject to delve and depict while wisely stepping back and letting her subjects tell their tales. Bipolar disorders come in many sizes and packages and many times take years to properly diagnose, if at all. Proper treatment is another separate process, often unsuccessful. Noel’s interviews are intimate, close, probing, and amazingly revelatory. Filming, editing, musical accompaniment, all technical aspects of the documentary are first class and non-intrusive. They accommodate an intelligent and emotional pace that allows viewers time to absorb and begin understand a difficult subject. Ca Tourne Dans Ma Tete belongs in all libraries, but especially school, public, and church collections.