Fish Can't Fly (2005)
From a secular point of view, the film explores the lives of gay men and women of faith as they recall their journeys to put their sexuality and spirituality in harmony. Finding that their strong religious convictions and faith seemed to be used against them, these are the personal stories of people who have participated in "ex-gay" ministries and found in fact that they did not provide a so-called cure. The answers seemed to come from within. With less of a focus on the "ex-gay" movement, the film is more about the telling of stories behind the debate and the role religion can play in one's life.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
Absolutely Brilliant!
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
What a skillful retort to the lies of the religious right who claim to be able to change people's attractions to the same sex! This is an intensely moving, wonderfully shot documentary about the actual lives of many people who went through "reparative" therapies in rejecting their attraction to the same sex as well as those in their families. It pairs well w/ "Trembling Before G-d." I'd say. There are great and very clear interviews w/ people who spell out the bizarre nature of the "treatments" that were supposed to cure them of their gay/bi/lesbian feelings and how poorly they actually led the people in those treatments to feel. What you see are people who were very caring, wonderful people whose lives were further damaged by the therapies they underwent. The good news is that many of them survived OK by leaving these treatments and establishing healthy gay-affirmative identities. Many realized that their dysfunctional behaviors as gay/bi/lesbian people earlier in their lives were NOT b/c of being gay, but b/c of hating that part of themselves, and these behaviors receded as they accepted themselves more fully. As a therapist myself, I've heard similar horror stories from many of my clients. If you ever had any illusions as to the "benefits" of these anti-gay "therapies," please watch this movie and find out the truth b/c many of the folks interviewed in this had claimed to have changed at different times.