Search - Southern Comfort on DVD

Gripping and deeply moving at once

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 02/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Southern Comfort is a brilliantly executed documentary focusing on a small yet equally important part of society--namely, those people who decide that they wish to change their gender. From watching this documentary I got the distinct impression that these people must be very brave because of the inherent stress involved, not to mention the prejudice they face up when they interact with other "normal" people. What the others say is true: these transgender people face their lot in life with tremendous grace and a sense of humor that always seems to get them through the rough times they face with family, friends who may not understand, and very possibly people at work, too. In addition, the film leaves little to be desired; we truly get to see how these people are human beings just like everyone else and the cruelty of the medical establishment is highlighted which is outrageous and sad at once. The cinematography is excellent and there is plenty of time to get to know these people fairly well although the spotlight remains on Robert Eads, a female to male transgender person who, in the last year of his life, strikes up an unexpected romance with a male to female transgender person. It really touched me the way they helped each other and their love for each other is very genuine.

Robert has to deal with a terrible blow. He changed most of the way from a woman to a man; but he never actually had a hysterectomy. He says in the film that his doctors told him it wasn't necessary. Thus, when he developed cancer of the cervix, not only was it caught very late, every last doctor refused to treat Robert, saying it would be "an embarrassment" to their patients to have Robert sitting in their waiting room. The fact that the medical establishment left Robert Eads alone to die is horrific to me and it raises very serious ethical issues.

Now there are many things I could say about Robert's friends who are profiled in this movie but to make a long story short they all, to one extent or another, don't exactly fit into the mold of "normalcy" in society and we see the price they pay for it. There's Max, Cas, Corissa, Stephanie and more. The group includes a genetic female who, after seven marriages to brutal men who beat her and more, actually found her true love with a female to male transgender person. Sure, they don't society's definition of what's "normal;" but wow are they happy and fulfilled together as they do what they want to do with their lives and that impressed me. They find happiness with self-acceptance and the strong social bonds they form help them to cope immeasurably.

The DVD comes with deleted scenes and the list of awards this film won, including that wonderful award from Sundance, is quite long.

You may think that this type of movie is not for you and therefore pass it by. I would encourage you, however, to give this a try and watch it. You'll be amazed and quite possibly even touched by their love for one another; and it leaves you with the understanding that all humans deserve to be considered equal and treated equally with fairness and kindness."