NO TRAILER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
First, the Recap:
The discerning character of understanding. At least, should this not be the case when it comes to how we strive each day to take in the realities around us and make our choices as to how and what we feel about anything and everything that crosses our paths? Yet, we seem to find more ways to become judge and jury, even if just in principal and demeanor, when we encounter that which challenges us or our own personal beliefs. Then, it is almost like voyeurism, a skewed view of the world or the specific object of our attention that steals away the basic rights of said thing or person and reduces them to a generalized, clichéd picture of actuality, not taking in what’s important, but instead placing them in a cocoon of our own ignorance and apathy.
So, for one individual named Eli, there is a much deeper, more personal, grounded perspective to share with the world at large, for he has a particulary unique circumstance and life choice to expound on–being a transgender. Often dismissed or made into a curiosity, Eli has made it a point to provide a much more intimate look at what is really is to be transgender and carry himself in a way that defies the critics, stands up against the doubters, haters, and other obstacles faced in order to put the human face on exactly who he is, and is proud to be.
Next, my Mind:
There are indeed the “eyes” of the world and, as alluded to above, the “understanding” nature the world claims to have a grasp on. But, if we’re totally candid, it so habitually masks ignorance and unwarranted judgment. This stands true when subjects of supposedly questionable disposition or character arise, and it only becomes too obvious that one group of individuals tends to be at the center of this–the LGTBQI community. Often straight-up vilified, or at minimum simply shunned outright because of their lifestyle choices, the way this collective sea of humanity gets overtly ostracized, criticized, and abused ends up standing as a sad testament to a world that actually doesn’t practice the attitude of “understanding”, and certainly not the basic foundational “love”, it wishes to present, at least not to the level it claims. Hence, through the medium of film and TV, there are the myriad of attempts to showcase acceptance, but so much of it feels more like “token” coverage, marginalization, and stone throwing underneath it all. So we arrive at this 7-minute indie short film effort from director Lumen Nguyen, shown at the 2019 High Coast Film Festival sponsored by and/or in association with Illambra, Kramfors Kommun, Film Vasternorrland, Europeiska Unionen, Region Vasternorrland, Lansstyrelsen Vasternorrland, and NBV, that the director themselves calls “a thought-provoking impulse”, which this critic would have to agree with after having seen the film.
While those who’ve read my thoughts over many years, it’s no secret that this particular thematic exploration isn’t a preferred one for me in films (or TV), you also know that isn’t out of hate, judgement, or condemnation, just simple, well, preference. However, for those films addressing the LGTBQI community in some form, it is also more for me about the means by which the director has chosen to portray and expand on the concept, and when done with an evident truth in execution, heart, and deep-seeded passion rather than just a blatant, outright blast in the face, it undeniably moves me even with any of my own hesitations and beliefs intact. This was the case with Nguyen’s project, as it presents such a relatable, wholly human, intimate, warm, and definitely impactful picture of one person’s journey as a transgender from a purely intellectual level, to really allow us as the viewer a chance to see and hear, granted in short order but no less potently, the trials and triumphs as seen through Eli’s eyes. The images here are an amalgamation of both shot footage and archival records, which also lends itself well to the documentary stylings intended and created here through listening to Eli explain his voyage, which comes across not as some blanket statement about the lifestyle as much as that more personable, “you feel like you’re actually there” sensibility that would lean you towards embracing him rather than rejecting him, even if not agreeing with his choice.
As I’ve also stated plenty of times before, because frankly I continue to fully believe this is the case, there is flat out too much hatred and misunderstanding, misguided misinterpretation, and overt anger in this world currently, and so many times it ends up getting directed at the “easy targets”, the minorities, the “freaks”, those who are different, when it’s most likely US that need the wake-up call to have a change of heart and overall mindset of how we treat each other as human beings, and this film’s beautifully orchestrated intentionality becomes a statement to all of that, at least for this critic, and it’s one about the need for real love to permeate this world that shines through, regardless of the subject matter. Eli is very straight forward, wonderfully raw, yet completely transparent in his narration about what it is to be transgender, which only puts it all in better, grander focus without being preachy, overly melodramatic, or even condescending for the film to make its points. It’s perceptions vs. postulations, reality vs. fantasy, and the intimacy of acceptance vs. forced hatred against what someone is or isn’t, therefore in total making “Eli-A Portrait” an honest, forthright, compelling, evocative picture of both the notion and actuality of being transgender in today’s world whose message, ideally, will resoundingly ring and spell out the need for God’s love and guidance to reunite a broken world and the miracle that is humanity.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
