8: The Mormon Proposition (Reed Cowan/ Steven Greenstreet, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Mathew Roscoe, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Documentaries about current, intensely divisive political issues are very heavy and dangerous territories. This festival has been blessed with multiple high quality documentaries, each sure to open the audience’s eyes. While I do not mean to put down or deny the bravery behind the making of the other excellent documentaries Green and The Cove, what sets those films apart from 8: The Mormon Proposition is that those film’s subject was, in a matter of speaking, not as controversial. While they certainly made brave moves and they did take risks, I saw they were not as controversial because almost no one would disagree with the film’s standpoint. I feel I can safely say that the staggering majority of the audience will easily agree that excessive deforestation and the savage slaughtering of dolphins is bad. This documentary, however, ventures into what is still a highly taboo and intensely debated territory: Same-sex marriage.

This movie is a “scorching indictment” on the Mormon’s promotion and involvement behind the passage of Prop 8 and the alleged foul play behind the campaign, with additional focus on the Mormon Church’s historic crusade against LGBT rights. The primary subject/interviewee is a gay couple that was married during that brief period of time when same-sex marriage was legal in California. Both were born and raised in a Mormon family. His family adamantly disowned one when he came out, whilst the other’s family actually left the Mormon Church to support their child’s relationship, thus being exiled from all of their extended family. While this couple’s experience with the Prop 8 campaign forms the backbone of the narrative, the film is fleshed out with interviews with victims of homophobia, archival footage of church leaders and politicians, and a focus on the history of the Mormon Church. In spite of the various subjects, the documentary’s excellent editing seamlessly weaved the topics together whilst never losing focus of the overall point

With such a bitterly controversial issue, it is key to watch this film with as open of a mind as possible. Members on both sides may be intrigued or challenged by the material, and the viewer’s personal bias will be key.  The majority of the audience was pretty clear on their feelings, as they occasionally hissed at some of the outspoken homophobes and applauded the couple whenever they triumphed. But in spite of the strong stance I take on the issue, I am not one to write off the other side as mindless or evil. The film does vilify the Mormon Church, but at the same time, the film did try to make it clear that the enemies were not the religious or conservative people as a whole, but just the hateful bigots that even the church tends to distance itself away from. The film was very honest and controlled in its delivery, and all it was really missing was interviews with the leaders on the “other side’ (Which the filmmakers tried to do, but the leaders refused). The material they have is very insightful and sometimes shocking, especially during a brief chapter that focused on homosexual teenagers that struggle to live on the streets after being disowned by their families. This film will likely move even those who supported Proposition 8. In fact, apparently during the end of a Sundance screening, a devout Mormon stood up and apologized for her Church’s actions after viewing this film.

Time will tell whether this film will affect the outcome of the current court challenging of Proposition 8, but it has certainly affected the audiences it has been able to reach, and with its recent acquiring of a distributor, its audience will only grow.