By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Tony Kaye
Country: united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 152
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841119/
Chris says: “I can’t think of a more difficult topic for a documentary to tackle than abortion. In his first feature since AMERICAN HISTORY X, director Tony Kaye dives head first into the debate over abortion, examining it from seemingly every possible angle. He employs talking heads interviews with people from both sides that range from the intellectual to the purely emotional and he visits communities that have been affected by violent activism. In graphic detail, he even follows a young woman as she undergoes the procedure.
This epic, exhaustive film was entirely shot in black-and-white. Like the infinite shades of gray that aesthetic choice visually represents, Kaye strives to show that abortion cannot always be reduced to generalized, black-and-white terms. Although he creates an expansive, suitably complex dialogue, in the end the film’s overall focus seems to boil down to the essentials: the role religion plays for most pro-lifers vs. one’s own personal liberties for pro-choicers.
As a discourse over abortion, the film frustrates, and that’s unavoidable—it’s nearly impossible to come into it as an objective viewer with such a divisive subject (the somewhat manipulative score doesn’t help either). Regardless, LAKE OF FIRE is indispensable for the questions it raises and recommended for anyone wanting to educate themselves on what range of impact an abortion has from the personal to the political. 4 cats”