Trembling Before G-d (2001)

Director:

Sandi Simcha Dubowski

Release Date:

6 December 2001 (Israel)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The hidden lives of gay and lesbian Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.

Plot:

A cinematic portrait of various gay Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their faith and their sexual orientation.

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Jewish | Anniversary Party | Aversion Therapy | Closeted Homosexual

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Also Known As:

Ils tremblent devant Dieu (France) (TV title)

Runtime:

Germany:80 min | Germany:94 min | UK:84 min

Country:

Israel | France | USA

Language:

English | Yiddish | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinephil

Quotes:

Rabbie Meir Fund: ...so the Jew who is gay by choice... work like made to overcome it... a Jew who is, as we might say, wall-to-wall gay... I will hold his hand, figuratively,... and do the best I can to give him strength to serve G-d.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Trembling Before G-d/Midori (#4.25)" (2002)

Needed to be made

I was lucky enough to attend a showing at which the director was present to answer audience questions after the film - not being Jewish, or homosexual, myself, such discussion was very helpful to understanding the film and where the director was coming from.

The film itself needed to be made, there's no doubt about that. Not having extensive knowledge of any one religion (other than the universal facts and myths about Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism), I found it difficult to see why the orthodox community is finding it so difficult to accept gays. Fortunately, a (very lively, interesting and funny) woman sitting behind me provided me with a useful analogy: Imagine that, suddenly, everyone in the world had to be American. I would still call myself Australian, but that wouldn't be allowed - I would *have* to be American, and the situation is irreconcilable. Obviously that analogy has flaws, but as a simple one on the spur of the moment, I thought it was pretty good.

What was even more interesting was learning what *didn't* go into the final version of the film: for example, Dubowski attempted for years to entice the orthodox parents of outed gays to appear on camera, but could find no takers. He gave the audience (which would have been about 30% non-Jewish) a brief rundown of the separate movements within the Jewish community, namely Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, and explained why he focussed the film on the former. He told of an ageing Jewish man who, after viewing the film, stood up, turned around and stated to the audience:

"I'm a survivor of the Holocaust... but I'm not here tonight to talk about that. When I was a young boy, growing up in Berlin in the 1920s, I remember seeing people at gatherings, standing alone and away from the rest of the community. I asked my father who these people were. My father told me, 'well, those people are the evil ones.' Now, after seeing this film, I finally know who those people were, and that they weren't 'evil'. I think the Jewish community needs to accept gays and lesbians, because they are people just like the rest of us."

I gave the film 7.5/10, up to 8 because of the director's presence.