Drew Burnett Gregory is back at Sundance bringing daily updates on the best of LGBTQ+ cinema and beyond. Follow along for more coverage or read her review of GEN_ below.
The best compliment I can give GEN_ is that it’s kind of boring. That might not be the response most filmmakers hope to receive, but what a relief to watch a documentary about the hot button issues of fertility care and transgender healthcare that normalizes instead of sensationalizing.
The film follows Dr. Bini, a physician who believes in the radical idea that healthcare should be about helping people. His dual practice of fertility treatment and trans medicine was born out of their shared use of hormone therapy. But now, after decades of work, both topics are subject to legal challenges in Milan where he works.
Most of the film consists of a cinema verité approach, allowing us to observe the conversations Dr. Bini and his staff have with their patients. As a trans woman with many cis lesbian friends, there was not a lot left for me to learn about either medical practice. But considering the endless curiosity people seem to have about this area of medicine, I’m glad this film exists to show the varied experiences of trans people and hopeful parents (and trans hopeful parents) in a way that approaches people without judgement.
Dr. Bini says, “Doctors have to make a choice between what is right and what is legal,” and I appreciate how he both communicates the law to his patients while assuring them that even if certain changes go into place, he will do what he can to still help them. This sense of right and wrong is his driving force, whether in advising his patients or complaining about the Italian government requesting he house embryos from Ukraine but not from Palestine.
The documentary doesn’t shy away from some of the stickier aspects of Dr. Bini’s practice including conversations about the desired appearance and backgrounds of sperm and egg donors. There were moments that even made me uncomfortable, but I think it’s worth questioning the difference between something being uncomfortable and something being morally wrong. As Dr. Bini says, people who probably shouldn’t be parents become parents without assistance all the time. How different is it for someone to say she’ll only marry a guy over six feet and she’ll only take sperm from a guy over six feet? At what point are we simply opening up the government to control the choices of the most vulnerable?
We all have our lines in what we think should be common medical practice, and I appreciate that the film shows that’s the case for Dr. Bini as well. He’s just doing what he thinks is right based on his conversations with his patients. He’s not infallible but I certainly trust him and other doctors more than I do politicians and the government.
Dr. Bini is balancing the desires of his patients with the judgments of their families with the judgments of society with the law. His language is at times old-fashioned and as someone who has had to go to about a million doctor appointments over the years as a trans woman, watching this film felt as tedious as some of those appointments. I’m not sure if trans people need to seek out this film, but I’m glad cis people will be able to watch it.
When the film is not in the medical office, it’s following Dr. Bini as he forages for mushrooms. There’s jaunty music and a feeling of peace and exploration. He’s a curious mind with a tender hand, seeking a better understanding of our world. If society won’t trust people to make decisions about their own bodies, I wish it would at least trust people like Dr. Bini. Maybe this film can help make that happen.
GEN_ is now streaming on the Sundance online platform.
This sounds quiet and contemplative – I’d be interested at least about the part where we’d learn more about the italian healthcare system