Trembling Before G-d (2001)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

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:

Jew | Gay | Lesbian | Judaism | Homosexuality

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Shlomo Ashkinazy	...	Himself - Psychotherapist
Steve Greenberg	...	Himself (as Rabbi Steve Greenberg)
Nathan Lopes Cardozo	...	Himself (as Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo)
Naomi Mark	...	Herself - Psychotherapist
Shlomo Riskin	...	Himself (as Rabbi Shlomo Riskin)
Yaakov Meir Weil	...	Himself - Psychiatrist (as Dr. Yaakov Meir Weil)

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:

Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinephil

Trivia:

The spelling of the last word in this movie's title comes from the Jewish tradition of treating any written representation of the name of God with respect, and not writing it on any document that might be treated carelessly or accidentally or deliberately defaced, destroyed, or erased (a longstanding Rabbinical interpretation of Deuteronomy 12:3). Since this movie, like most, had posters, sales materials, contractual paperwork, DVD covers, and other ephemera with its title on them go out into public hands, the filmmakers used the G-d spelling out of respect and recognition that there was no way to know how the documents on which the name would be treated outside or their presences.

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)

As a gay Catholic, I can identify ...

As a gay Catholic, who has embraced celibacy to conform to the teachings of the Church, I can wholeheartedly identify with the efforts of the Orthodox Jewish lesbians and gays in this film to reconcile their spirituality and sexuality, and to find acceptance in the eyes of God and their community. It is heartwrenching especially to see the havoc that this struggle has wreaked in the life of Israel Fishman. On the surface, he responds with bravado, rejecting the people and the faith that have rejected him. Yet, in one of the film's most powerful scenes, he vents his sorrow and bitterness, anger and rage, at what being gay has cost him, especially the love of his father.

The documentary is perhaps not slick and elegant in terms of production values. The constant subtitles, interpreting Hebrew and Yiddish terms for the Gentile viewer, are sometimes intrusive and annoying (especially if the viewer is at all conversant with the Jewish faith). It would have been useful, though, to explain that "Ha-Shem" means "the Name", i.e., God's name which may never be pronounced.

What it most interesting about this documentary, I think, is that it shows how the main problem may not so much be finding acceptance of onself as lesbian or gay, but rather finding acceptance of oneself as a spiritual person in a secular world.

Finally, although the film clearly documents the trials and difficulties of being a lesbian or gay Orthodox Jew, the joy of loving and being loved by G-d comes shining through. The lesbians and gays in this film suffer much at the hands of their families and rabbis, their synagogues and yeshivas -- but never, it seems, do they question that they are loved and accepted by G-d.