— by ALLISON HIGGINBOTHAM —
Watching the first 10 seconds of the “Prodigal Sons” trailer made me think that this documentary was going to be a horror story. The home videos, the children singing, and the lack of a voice over all screamed scary movie to me. Unfortunately, the remaining minute and a half of the trailer leaves you to make the same kind of assumptions as to why this documentary was made.
“Prodigal Sons” is a documentary by Kimberly Reed, who documents herself reuniting with her brother, Marc. Marc has seen Kimberly as a rival since they were children. Both have checkered pasts. Marc was in a car accident, which led to brain damage, and Kimberly was born a man. While traveling, the two find out that they have a genealogical connection with Orson Welles.
Plot descriptions of “Prodigal Sons” say that the film has “twists of plot and gender,” but the trailer below looks rather bland. The most informing thing is the text in between home video footage, but it doesn’t get you emotionally invested in the documentary.
The story seems interesting, but it also seems like too much. A documentary could be made about a sex change or a person with brain damage or two siblings reuniting, but to have it all together just looks overwhelming.
“Prodigal Sons” made the festivals rounds last year, but should be showing in New York City in February this year.
Source: Trailer Addict
Follow Allison Higginbotham on Twitter at http://twitter.com/allisonbh.
Hmm … I actually think it looks interesting. I’d like to see it.