Rating: 
Summary: Authentic
Review: The audience of this captivating film is bound to be the wildest amalgam of people you'll see congregated: yarmukled heads interspersed with gay couples.The documentary authentically portrays the tension that is most plain in the soul of a human being who identifies both as gay and Orthodox. The director has taken evident pains to show both in an authentic light. I heartily recommend this movie to any faith, particularly Jewish and Christian, and to those who's faith has been badly bruised because of their sexual identity, and to those who have struggled to maintain a life of righteousness and purity in the midst of forbidden, mountainous desire.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: The DVD contains not just the ground-breaking film but also wonderful additional material such as the feature "Trembling on the Road" which documents the reaction to the film. The film shows that being gay or lesbian is not an obstacle to being a religious Jew, and that kindness and humanity triumph over narrow-mindedness.
Rating:
Summary: Such a mitzvah!
Review: The movie is a penetrating look at how people can maintain their faith in G-d when others tell them they are not worthy of love or of respect from G-d or from other people. Of course, it is all the more difficult to maintain one's faith and self-respect when the people who give you this message are your family, literally or figuratively. This is one of those rare movies that makes you forget that you're an observer by grabbing your heart and subsuming you completely in the stories it tells. A must-see for anyone of any religion or orientation. (I saw this movie at a screening in Washington, DC, but will be purchasing the DVD soon, so these comments are on just the movie itself.)
Rating:
Summary: Our Merciful G-d
Review: This is a film for everyone: gay, straight or otherwise. Our G-d is a G-d of mercy, love, compassion and tolerance. You don't have to be Jewish to experince this film's message: "When we fall, we fall into the lap of Hashem". This film may not provide the definitive answer on the gay question, but hopefully it will make you think!
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This was a movie I really came to wanting to like, but ultimately I left it feeling depressed, annoyed, and not particularly challenged to thought or rewarded by any redeeming creative or poetic insight. In its matter-of-fact style, this film serves as a very depressing glimpse into the religious fundamentalist subculture at its most dysfunctional, anti-intellectual, anti-humanist and destructive. Those participants in the film with whom one might otherwise sympathize or identify are all revealed to be so intractably mired in endless self-hatred, self-victimization and subjective, insular superstition that they are all gratingly annoying--more even than tragic. I left asking myself, "So, what was the point of this entire film?" "The religious fringe community can be ugly, insular and dysfunctional"? And how is this a new insight to anyone? "Gay and lesbian people who grow up in repressive, homophobic environments have problems reconciling their being with their homophobic 'home'"? Again, what's new here? This film just doesn't bring anything to the viewer. It beats them over the head with an endless stream of torturously neurotic people unwilling to do anything but suffer through tragic lives, again with with no redeeming purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, validating, precedent-setting
Review: When this movie premiered at a San Francisco film festival in 2001, the lines stretched around the block and I couldn't get into the theater. I've been eagerly awaiting the DVD's release, and -- cliche alert!-- it was well worth the wait. Seeing this film, I cried, I laughed. I'm Jewish (not Orthodox) and gay, and my coming-out created much 'tsuris' in my family, so I could relate to the material on many levels. I did not expect to learn so much about spirituality, theology, and the awesome spirit and strength of the individual. The people who "dared" to speak out in this documentary are role models-- down to earth, articulate, struggling, wise, warm. Special mention must be made of the mesmerizing soundtrack by John Zorn; the bonus, sweet, short feature, "Tomboychik," featuring the filmmaker's irreverent and delightful Grandma; and the "on the road" featurette showing how the film transformed the lives of the women and men involved. *Trembling Before G-d* seems especially relevant in these times when the church [and synagogue] are dealing with the public's growing realization that being gay is neither an illness nor a crime. The existence of this film is a mitzvah.
Rating:
Summary: Our Merciful G-d
Review: Winner of the Teddy Award of the 2001 Berlin Film festival and a 2001 Selection of the Sundance Film festival, this is a beautifully realized documentary that is devoted to the stories of those who are gay and lesbian within the Jewish Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Their stories and their struggles break the viewer's heart. It shows the lengths that people will go to try to reconcile their Jewish faith with its strictures regarding homosexuality and still remain a member of that religious community. Some of the stories are very sad, but all are, nonetheless, enlightening. People of all faiths should make it a point to see this film, because reconciliation of faith with one's sexual orientation is not limited to those who profess Judaism. It is a question with which Catholics, as well as those of other faiths, grapple. Masterfully directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski, the film boasts a wonderful, joyous soundtrack by John Zorn that conjures up the biblical underpinnings and zest of the Jewish faith. The filming of people behind a white screen so that they appear as dark silhouettes against a light backdrop, at times, to show moments in the religious life of those of the Jewish faith is also striking and very powerful, as well as aesthetically pleasing. This was done because so many who participated in this film refused to appear on screen, so as to avoid ostracism within their respective communities. The final result is visually mesmerizing. It took the director six years to get enough people who dared to speak out on film about this issue. Some of them are out of the closet, but a number of them are not. Some of them, mostly women, are, in fact, married to a member of the opposite sex, despite their sexual orientation, mostly quite unhappily. How terrible for all parties concerned, as none have been able to achieve true communion with their spouses. Yet, many feel that living a lie is the only way to remain within their religious community, and for them this is preferable to ostracism from the only way of life they have ever known. Some have left their religious communities, but that, too, has been a road fraught with personal turmoil, as well as with emotional trauma and anguish. Others have stayed true to their natures, but still try to live a religious life, though they are no longer participating in the religious communities that have rejected them. Some have despaired and felt suicide to be their only alternative. Some of the advice given to homosexual men by their rabbis so that these men may overcome their "affliction", for that is how homosexuality is perceived by many in the Orthodox and Hasidic communities, is quite startling. In the Jewish faith. strict construction of biblical texts holds that certain types of sexual intercourse constitutes an abomination. So, homosexual men are encouraged to marry women, despite their sexual orientation. Never mind that such men will also be unlikely to have a true communion with their wives. Yet, at the same time, many in these religious communities prefer that their daughters not marry such men. So there is some visceral, tacit acknowledgment that this is not a recipe for a good marriage. Behavior modification, aversion therapy, and psychotherapy are some of the other weapons the religious community uses to mount their campaign to correct one's sexual orientation. Some within these religious communities hold the antiquated belief that one's sexual orientation can be changed or sublimated. The film provides much food for thought, and the topic is one that has been previously considered to be taboo. The issue of homosexuality within religious communities is now one that is ripe for discussion. The director has managed to bring the issue to the forefront in a tasteful, yet thought provoking way. The director is always mindful of the humanity of those whose stories he is telling. It is a humanity of which those in these religious communities should also be mindful, as all are made in the image of God. This is a DVD worth having for those who are interested in different cultures or faiths within the construct of the issue that the film is exploring. It is a two disc, value laden DVD with crisp visuals and sound. Asides from the usual commentary and theatrical trailers, it has one disc entirely devoted to special features. It discusses the medieval rite of atonement for homosexual acts. It has an panel of prominent rabbis discussing their thoughts on the issues raised by the film. There is a special project in Israel that was established in the wake of this film and a number of panelists discuss their experiences with some of these issues. The director even has a featurette on his grandmother, who seems to be quite a character. All in all, this is a DVD worth having in one's personal collection. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: GATHER IN ALL THE EXILES...
Review: Winner of the Teddy Award of the 2001 Berlin Film festival and a 2001 Selection of the Sundance Film festival, this is a beautifully realized documentary that is devoted to the stories of those who are gay and lesbian within the Jewish Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Their stories and their struggles break the viewer's heart. It shows the lengths that people will go to try to reconcile their Jewish faith with its strictures regarding homosexuality and still remain a member of that religious community. Some of the stories are very sad, but all are, nonetheless, enlightening. People of all faiths should make it a point to see this film, because reconciliation of faith with one's sexual orientation is not limited to those who profess Judaism. It is a question with which Catholics, as well as those of other faiths, grapple. Masterfully directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski, the film boasts a wonderful, joyous soundtrack by John Zorn that conjures up the biblical underpinnings and zest of the Jewish faith. The filming of people behind a white screen so that they appear as dark silhouettes against a light backdrop, at times, to show moments in the religious life of those of the Jewish faith is also striking and very powerful, as well as aesthetically pleasing. This was done because so many who participated in this film refused to appear on screen, so as to avoid ostracism within their respective communities. The final result is visually mesmerizing. It took the director six years to get enough people who dared to speak out on film about this issue. Some of them are out of the closet, but a number of them are not. Some of them, mostly women, are, in fact, married to a member of the opposite sex, despite their sexual orientation, mostly quite unhappily. How terrible for all parties concerned, as none have been able to achieve true communion with their spouses. Yet, many feel that living a lie is the only way to remain within their religious community, and for them this is preferable to ostracism from the only way of life they have ever known. Some have left their religious communities, but that, too, has been a road fraught with personal turmoil, as well as with emotional trauma and anguish. Others have stayed true to their natures, but still try to live a religious life, though they are no longer participating in the religious communities that have rejected them. Some have despaired and felt suicide to be their only alternative. Some of the advice given to homosexual men by their rabbis so that these men may overcome their "affliction", for that is how homosexuality is perceived by many in the Orthodox and Hasidic communities, is quite startling. In the Jewish faith. strict construction of biblical texts holds that certain types of sexual intercourse constitutes an abomination. So, homosexual men are encouraged to marry women, despite their sexual orientation. Never mind that such men will also be unlikely to have a true communion with their wives. Yet, at the same time, many in these religious communities prefer that their daughters not marry such men. So there is some visceral, tacit acknowledgment that this is not a recipe for a good marriage. Behavior modification, aversion therapy, and psychotherapy are some of the other weapons the religious community uses to mount their campaign to correct one's sexual orientation. Some within these religious communities hold the antiquated belief that one's sexual orientation can be changed or sublimated. The film provides much food for thought, and the topic is one that has been previously considered to be taboo. The issue of homosexuality within religious communities is now one that is ripe for discussion. The director has managed to bring the issue to the forefront in a tasteful, yet thought provoking way. The director is always mindful of the humanity of those whose stories he is telling. It is a humanity of which those in these religious communities should also be mindful, as all are made in the image of God. This is a DVD worth having for those who are interested in different cultures or faiths within the construct of the issue that the film is exploring. It is a two disc, value laden DVD with crisp visuals and sound. Asides from the usual commentary and theatrical trailers, it has one disc entirely devoted to special features. It discusses the medieval rite of atonement for homosexual acts. It has an panel of prominent rabbis discussing their thoughts on the issues raised by the film. There is a special project in Israel that was established in the wake of this film and a number of panelists discuss their experiences with some of these issues. The director even has a featurette on his grandmother, who seems to be quite a character. All in all, this is a DVD worth having in one's personal collection. Bravo!
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