I have referred to www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com, the "
official"
website.
Trembling Before G-d is a
documentary about the lives of
Orthodox and
Hasidic gay and
lesbian Jews in the
United States,
England, and
Israel. With his
film director Sandi Simcha DuBowski explores a question not
unique to
Judaism. DuBowski questions the
ability for
people of
deep religious faith to maintain their
devotion in the face of
incompatibility with
doctrine.
DuBowski makes an attempt to get a wide spectrum of people, from a
young,
out, and doctrinally
lukewarm man to a deeply
closeted, fearful woman trapped within an
abusive and
contractual marriage. Many will never speak to their
parents again; most sense an estrangement from a community frequently more important than his or her
biological family. In the case of a lesbian
couple featured in the documentary, one
partner's
parents would only call just before the
Sabbath to check up with her. They only agreed to call once a
week after their
rabbi insinuated that not to call would impact their
spiritual well-being. One scene depicts the woman having a
limited conversation with her parents,
pleasantries lasting no more than a few
minutes.
Breaking down in front of the
camera, she relates how her parents only call "to get on the good side" of
God and
doctrine. The segment effectively shows how familes can be torn apart because the religious community takes some
priority over family bonds.
One
technical observation is the use of
subtitles in a film predominately in the
English language. DuBowski wisely chose to include subtitles explaining Jewish terms and
Hebrew words. The subtitles considered words in
context, presenting the entire English
sentence with the
translation of
terminology italicized. Having never seen this presentation before, I was amazed at the ease with which I could follow, at least
superficially, meanings of terms. Whether or not these translations were accurate only an observant and studied Jewish person could tell. For the non-
Jew, a boon.
The film is quite controversial in (mainly
orthodox) Jewish
circles. The website cites an
article from the
Jerusalem Post in which the author questions the absence of Jewish people who have successfully completed
conversion therapy and have gone on to marry or mend marriages.
Politics aside,
Trembling Before G-d is a valuable film not because it is Jewish or
gay, but in spite of it. Most people at one point in their lives have questioned their religious commitments or lack of, and have to make a choice to continue commitment. Sometimes, it's not possible to keep a stake in every available option.