Three Times in One Doc
If you get HBO, do yourself a favor and watch the documentary Twist of Faith tonight. I promise you, there's nothing better going to be on television for the next month than this film.I had the chance to see this at the LA Film Festival two weeks ago and was blown away by it. The film, which was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year, is about a man, Tony, from Toledo. When Tony was a teenager, he was sexually abused by his priest. He grew up, married, had two kids and bought a new house. Within the first week of living in his new neighborhood, he discovered that the man who sexually abused him as a child lived five houses down the street. When other victims of abuse come forward in Toledo, after the Boston papal indictments start, Tony comes forward too and his life is of course irrevocably changed.
The thing that pushes this documentary to the pinnacle of film-making is that director Kirby Dick manages to show how the abuse encroached into every aspect of Tony's life. He interviews Tony's wife who talks about her reaction to finding out before they were married about what befell Tony. We are also able to see how they deal with it in marriage counseling, how it affects their parenting, as well as how it affects their families, and their life at church.
It's the later component that I found to be the most fascinating. Much weight is given to looking at how Tony tries to reconcile his feelings for what was done to him by a Catholic priest and his respect for the institution itself. Later, when Tony and his family discover that the bishop of the Toledo diocese knew of accusations against the priest and lied about it, he then has to try and reconcile his faith with the hypocrisy of the Catholic leadership.
The film is the most moving documentary I've seen this year. I cried three times during the screening. It's not easy to sit through, but ultimately, it is one of the most rewarding and life-affirming testimonies you'll see this year. If this gets a theatrical run, I can almost guarantee you'll see it on my Top 10 of the year list.
posted by cinegod @ 12:04 AM
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