Trembling Before G-D
(Documentary)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B Main program: B-
Some documentary works are not necessarily classics or
even brilliant works, but still manage to open up a new school of thought and
awareness of their subject. Sandi
Simcha Dubowski’s Trembling Before G-D (2001) boldly travels the world
to deal with a long-hidden phenomenon.
Usually, when someone in religion comes to terms with their sexuality
and it is homosexuality, they leave that life behind. That is exactly what happens, for instance in A Very Natural
Thing (the 1973 drama reviewed elsewhere on this site). In this case, we find out about Jewish men
and women who cling onto their beliefs, even if the doctrine of that faith
advises against it.
The new double DVD set from New Yorker offers the original
program on DVD 1, then offers a ton of valuable supplements that updates on DVD
2. The program itself is somewhat
shocking, depending on what you believed was the situation in strictly Jewish
communities worldwide. Of course, Gay
and Lesbian people are in societies throughout the world, and the more their
existence is openly denied, the more extreme and backwards that society
is. One organization has brought these
people together for over a quarter century, but that is just the beginning.
The less you know about the Jewish Community, the more
likely you are bound to miss vital points here. This critic has enough friends of that leaning that more was
caught than usual, though there are items only someone who has lived that life
will get. It is one thing to try to do
a documentary about Judaism, because you have to make choices about how much to
explain, and doing this about any Gay Community also offers great challenges,
so ethnic are both, but to cover both in one program is even tougher, but
director Dubowski pulls it off.
Some of it may be obvious, but unlike the shallow TV shows
that (real or dramatized, though we can name several bad sitcoms), this program
could not cut or sell the homosexuality short.
There is no ethnic whitewash of anyone here, because it is impossible to
get away with, and for the two reasons already noted. They say this has been changing people’s lives, and it is a
classy work that we can all hope will continue to do so, challenging the status
quo on several levels. The shallow,
reactionary response is shown throughout, with people bashing the openly Gay
and Lesbian Jewish followers. They say
that they are living a lie; contradictory lives, but never consider the
possibility of a gray area. They also
cannot deny that these people simply exist, whether they like it, agree with
it, or not. Theologians can go off into
their own diatribes about this, pro or con, but this critic is not qualified
for that.
The program was taped worldwide in what looks like the PAL
format, actually here in anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 framing. That was a surprise, but the result is still
a bit softer than expected. Age of the
tape system and/or various equipment used in that format may be a factor, but
at least it is a direct tape transfer to a video master for DVD, skipping the
film print step that brought it to movie houses worldwide. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is recorded in
SR Surround and is not bad for a documentary.
Though there are no extras on the first DVD, the second
one is loaded with them, actually enhancing and surpassing what the program
established. There is Dubowski’s taped
15-minutes short Tomboychik, an interview with him, then one where he is
joined by editor Susan Korda, a trailer, the deleted scene Sara and her Kids,
the
trailer, five subsections revisiting Rabbis from the main
feature, a making-of featurette, and many other bits that will make more sense
after watching DVD 1. The final feature
to note is the resources section, which offers phone numbers, addresses, e-mail
addresses, and more. New Yorker did
such a good job on this with their DVD of Life + Debt (also covered on
this site,) that you know this is library caliber.
Reactionaries will also say the title might be
anti-religious or plain atheist, but the “G-d” really has to do with the belief
in Judaism that the name of God is too high to be spoken. This is the kind of ignorance that has stood
for too long. Trembling Before G-D
is another stripping away of such thinking, now ready for a whole new audience
on a fine DVD set.
- Nicholas Sheffo
