Movie reviews

19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO

Recommended. Deeply moving and hard-hitting. I hadn't expected to be so impressed by LGBT issues. Vivid, likeable protagonists, shocking statistics - 41% of trans teenagers attempt suicide. The documentary features stories of success and of failure but all are filled with parents' love as well as with examples of violence like in the Orlando gay club shooting. Each of the families thought they supported their children but the very religion serves as a ruse for discrimination. The US examples show that families supporting their LGBT children as well as an open-minded society can enable a trans person enter the world of politics whereas the lack of social support means they often end up homeless. On the margin of the main issue, there's a case which proves that brain damage doesn't equal brain death which is unsettling in terms of usual practices of cutting off the life support in such cases. Excellent cinematography.

75-80 hours were shot for each story from which under 5 minutes appear in the film. E. g. Sarah's parents are funny people which you won't find in the resulting film. It took one year full-time to edit. Director Daniel Karslake observes "unconscious discomfort that men have with women" and is of the opinion that "homophobia and transphobia come from deep-rooted misogyny." In the US the worst offence is saying to a man: "you play like a woman". Also it's often misunderstood sexual orientation a choice. Bible scholar Delman Coates has analyzed the Bible verses which commonly serve as the basis for discrimination against gay people and found that they in fact refer to sexual violence rather than orientation. The director told me his first film, "For The Bible Tells Me So", explored the verses in detail. I have since watched the film but the verses were only mentioned on the margin. The director is gay, married to his partner for 28 years. Has been living in Berlin the last 5 years. Was raised in a Christian household and has been Christian all his life. "For They Know Not What They Do" has won the Audience Award at the festival. I gave it the highest note too.

KLEINE GERMANEN (LITTLE GERMANS)

Recommended. Explains how a Nazi family works and the connection to domestic violence. Incredible such families still exist. Some hark back to Wehrmacht grandfathers and the values have been passed on by subsequent generations. Children are disciplined to the point where they are locked in an ice-cold barn as punishment. It's like growing up in a sect. Another shocking example is dropping the piano cover on a girl's hands because she played Mendelssohn (a Jew). According to Germanic mythology men and women are equal but women have a lower position in such societies. One thing they pinpoint just right is that both Christianity and Islam are invasive religions.

Various organizations help people leave such societies. Inland Secret Service watch the scene but rarely help drop-outs because they're never sure if they are drop-outs for real. The rightists are not from metropolises so they have little contact with others. Such groups buy land in East Germany. Director Frank Geiger says the danger is that what they preach is close to mid-way values, just perverted, a close step to the extremism.

THE NIGHTCRAWLERS

Recommended. The Philippines had a huge drug problem. Drug addicts would rape or kill so in presidential elections, the Filipinos voted for Duterte en masse. Since then a few thousand drug dealers and addicts have been killed by the police and vengeful vigilantes. The drug problem resolution has left the society divided yet in the West it's unpopular not to condemn the killings.