Prodigal Sons

The introduction from the SIFF volunteer described this as "a very brave" documentary. I can see some elements of that, certainly, but there's also a strong element of in-your-face attention grabbing, and a large amount of personal family stuff that really doesn't need to be aired in public.

The doc starts with Kim going back to Montana for a high school reunion, the first time she will see most of her high school friends since she ceased to be Paul, the starring quarterback. Even at this point, it feels like Kim is going into it with a mindset to seek out confrontation, but her old schoolmates don't rise to the bait.

At that point the focus switches to Kim's family, including her older adopted brother who sustained a head injury at 25 and is now prone to random violent mood swings. What follows is a litany of physical abuse followed by sobbing contrition. At one point they call the cops. The brother discovers he's the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, which only puts him in a couple of extremely uncomfortable scenes with distant relatives in Bulgaria, and serves no real purpose in the documentary aside from a role which Kim admits she tried to force him into for her own feelings of acceptance.

In the end, there's really nothing interesting here. Yeah, families have a hard time with mentally damaged people. But framed from the point of view of a transgendered individual insecure in her own background and trying to force acceptance from a family member obviously not willing to give it doesn't really make for a good stage to make any real point.