For all its high spirits, feeling of brotherhood and celebration, Old World Judaism shuns homosexuality with an angry vigor, with families abandoning or shutting out their gay children completely, leaving the gay Jewish minority to seek solace in treatments, either psychiatry or with outmoded methods (one gay man is told to snap a rubberband around his wrist whenever he sees a fellow he's attracted to!). Globe-trotting but exceptionally lightweight documentary tries a multi-character approach with the stories interlocking and so forth, but it's a film-structure too ambitious for a low-budget project such as this. The feelings involved in the film are not cheaply felt, but the movie itself seems merely pasted together. We get far more than we need about a tour guide in Israel who hasn't seen or spoken to his family in years, but very little about a lesbian who's afraid to even walk through a Jewish celebration being held in her neighborhood (when she pauses to watch the happy children playing, she wryly comments, "they look much happier than I ever was"). These Orthodox gays and lesbians are tied irrevocably to their faith, yet they cannot reconcile the fact their religion doesn't regard them in a positive light. Their collective self-esteem is incredibly low because they have more questions than answers. A curious glimpse into the human condition--possibly saying more on the need for religion rather than the condemnation of homosexuality--but with blurred-out faces and silhouettes, uncertain editing and sloppy interviews, we don't get enough substance on the main topic, and not nearly enough colorful human subjects to sustain interest. ** from ****
Review of Trembling Before G-d
