Customer Reviews

Southern Comfort

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This sensitive documentary chronicles the lives several gender-bending and mind-bending sets of transsexual couples. The central character, who has become a man, is ironically dying of ovarian cancer. He was repeatedly refused treatment by the medical establishment because of his identity as a transsexual. The unconventionality of these individuals is touchingly contrasted with their fight for basic human rights, and their desire to enjoy the simple pleasures of domestic life taken for granted by most Americans. Despite some petty differences, they achieve compassion, humor, and tolerance in their interractions among themselves and with their "straight" families and friends. The dignity of their struggle brilliantly reveals that it is actually "mainstream" culture which is freakish, both in terms of its outrageous persecution and its irrational phobia of them. The final line of the film really stayed with me (I'm paraphrasing): "Nature delights in diversity, why can't human beings?" I was tempted to give the film five stars but I felt the cinematography could have been more creative and the editing could have been tighter. In terms of content, though, this film has a rare and transformative vision which would merit the highest rating.

SOUTHERN COMFORT is everything documentary films (or 'docurama' as the film makers call it) should be: it is honest, illuminating, straight-forward, and technically well made. Kate Davis has given us insight into a community that is sadly neglected by society at large - the transgender community of male to female and female to male who are caourageous enough to follow their convictions that they were born with the wrong body. The film documents the last four seasons in the life of Robert Eads, a warm, crusty guy who was denied full gender change surgery by the medical profession in Georgia and thus still retains his cervix and uterus which have become malignant and eventually cause his death. His extended family of two other female to male friends (one of whom was given a botched breast reduction by the same medical profession), the two wives of these men (one a genetic female who had been married 7 times before to extremely abusive genetic males), Robert's love Lola Cola (a male to female woman of beautiful warmth and support, and Robert's own biological son (who still calls Robert 'Mom') and grandson. To see the way this quiet and lovely group of people stand tall in a world that despises them, who look forward to the annual Southern Comfort Weekend where transgendered people gather to nurture and celebrate each other, and who invite us into thier private lives is simply a beautiful experience for the viewer. Where other less sensitive directors could have made this film a sensational expose, Kate Davis has elected to keep it tender and true. Kudos to all concerned. This film should be in the archives of all Gender Studies programs.

This is one of the best documentary films i have ever seen. PLEASE WATCH THIS, no matter who you are!! The amazing strength of this film is that the transgendered individuals whose lives are chronicled are not portrayed as in any way strange, bizarre, or freakish...they are portrayed as what they really ARE...fully **human**....compassionate heart-and-soul human beings...and not even the most homophobic viewer could miss that message. This is real, it's powerful, and trust me, have some tissues on hand.

This is a beautifully made documentary about the last year in the life of Robert Eads, who was denied treatment for his cancer just because he is a member of a heavily descriminated minority. It is obviously a low budget film, but well edited and the story is told in a compelling manner. I became caught up in the emotion of the film and became angry at the injustice. Robert comes across as a lovable and loving human being who does not deserve the fate handed to him. We come to know Robert and his circle of friends, including Robert's girlfriend Lola, all of whom struggle with Robert's fate. This documentary won many awards and it shows. It also has aired on the Sundance channel and HBO.

I also recommend the bonus features on this DVD, especially the additional footage of Robert that had been cut from the final film. The additional footage gives more background on how Robert attempted to seek treatment for his cancer and was denied. He also says some touching things about his parents and their acceptance of Robert's life.

Give this film a chance, and it will open your heart as well as your mind. Please see it.

that looks a lot like this one. A good movie, like a good novel, takes you into the world of the character. You walk a mile in his shoes. You develop empathy. That is absolutely what happens in this amazing film. This is not a "Hollywood" version "based on a true story". You watch the story unfold in real life, with real people - amazingly ordinary people who offer a glimpse of their extraordinary souls. You get to know their everyday lives, their joys, and ultimately the sorrow that they are moving toward in this period of their lives. My one complaint is that the editing is a little lax on the central character. Perhaps the film maker could not bear to take more away from a man who was losing so much already. The transsexualism here is appropriately handled as an aside. It does not define the story or the people. This is a tragic story of injustice that nonetheless reveals the power of unconditional love and acceptance, and the triumph of the human spirit.

This film started out to be a curiosity for me and turned into a near tearjerker. This award winning documentary follows Robert Eads and his girlfriend, Lola Cola, during the last year of Robert's life (ironically, he's dying of Ovarian cancer). The story is told with Robert in the lead with his many friends and family around commenting on how life simply is. It's told in such a matter of fact way, you wonder they don't all just give up. In the extreme face of adversity, discrimination and hate, they have the courage to continue living. In fact, they prefer the isolated redneck country, as even in the more liberal city, there is more prejudice.

All the `female to male' guys are believable and only Lola Cola seems more like a drag queen, but this attitude soon diminishes as you see Lola for who he/she really is. Lola is simply a loving, caring person; someone that you feel just doesn't deserve this kind of hardship. In fact, none of these fine people deserve their fate. However, this film is careful to keep in the middle and there is no smaltz and few judgmental remarks - except, oddly enough, between themselves. These are people who have the courage to face their lives and live them to the fullest.

It might be difficult to try and get into the heads of these people, but it is an exercise worth the effort. What one ends up seeing are simply true human beings with emotions and love for each other. This is something that seems to be lacking in so many other areas of society. This documentary is an invaluable slice of life. It is truly inspirational.

This is the one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It is a heartwarming, beautiful depiction of the last year of Robert Eads' life. I have seen it 10+ times and cry each and every time. It always leaves me filled with indescribable emotion for all those shown in the movie....I can't recommend it enough.

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.

This incredibly moving and well-done documentary centers on Robert, a F to M transsexual who has love, grace, wisdom, and seems like an ordinary guy in many ways had you not known that he had been born female. The story is also about Robert's many and colorful friends, who, like Robert, have struggled with the rigid labels -- and behaviors assigned to those labels -- by a culture that is intolerant of anyone who dares to deviate from a restricting norm.

The "heart" this documentary displays is rooted in the community of friends, lovers and family, some of whom try to transcend their culture's ideas of what male and female should be. Ultimately, the support and understanding exhibited by most of the people in this film triumph. We learn what it means to be a compassionate human being.

Although Robert died of cervical cancer, as he had never had his uterus removed (ironically, no doctor would agree to treat him), this film is a lasting and memorable tribute to the humanity we are all capable of. Whether you are transsexual, homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual, or anything in between, this documentary is an inspiration to us in our goal to become more human(e) -- and thus express our true divinity. Highly recommended.

As a docudrama, Southern Comfort is far from the romantic comedies and action movies that I usually indulge in as part of my leisure viewing. In many ways, however, Southern Comfort would fit well into my Introduction to LGBT Studies course. I already assign texts about the medical discrimination faced by LGBTQ people, and this movie certainly sheds more light on the subject (especially in its "special features" section). I'll definitely recommend it to students this semester, and seriously consider adding it to my syllabus for next semester. I don't know, though, that I feel in a space to watch it with students...to teach/discuss it...

It feels too close to home (literally) and too raw to talk about cancer, and about death and dying. As I watched the film, it struck me that that's exactly what the film was--the chronicling of the last year of Robert Eads' life, the chronicling of his dying. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautifully done film and certainly earned its rewards. I just mean to say that at the heart of the film is not only Eads' life, but his death.

The film opens up in "Spring" when Eads gathers together friends and family for an Easter celebration. He is clearly joyed to have his friends come to his land and to cook for them, and be in community with those he loves and has made his family. His friends are certainly happy to see him, but it's also clear that they've made this time to spend with him because he is dying.

While there are moments where Eads speaks about his cancer on camera, and where his friends do the same, I don't readily recall scenes where they talk about it amongst themselves. What more easily comes to mind are confessional type revelations spoken directly into the camera. In this way, it's not so much a film about cancer, but about the family (biological, and perhaps more importantly chosen) that gathers around and the love shared in the time left, every moment precious.

I guess in the end, while it is still about the words finally being said that for so long had been left unsaid, more importantly it's about the actions taken--the being there--that counts the most.