Protagonist (2007)
Our Rating:
June 5, 2008
It’s rare to find a documentary that really pushes the boundaries for documentaries and introduces you to anything new but Protagonist did that for me. It tells the stories of four totally different men and their struggles and what has become of them now. The stories are all told and then then director Jessica Yu mirrors their experiences to what happens in a Greek tragedy by Euripides, THE BACCHAE. One of the men is Mark Pierpont, who tried to quash his homosexuality by becoming an evangelist and preaching about curing oneself of being gay. Pierpont travelled the world as a missionary and preached to audiences of thousands. Then there is Joe Loya, who as a child, was brutally abused by his father. When Loya came of age, he quickly funnelled his rage into robbing banks, until he was caught and sent to prison. Hans-Joachim Klein also suffered abuse at the hands of his father, after his mother–a Holocaust survivor–committed suicide. Klein went on to join a German terrorist organization, and was involved in the 1976 Entebbe hijacking and several arson attacks. Lastly there is Yu’s own husband, Mark Salzman, who was constantly tormented and beaten by high school bullies. In order to gain back some control, he became obsessed with martial arts, and religiously attended the classes of an extremely off-kilter and sadistic karate instructor. The real thing that made me enjoy this movie is that as the men are describing their lives, the scenes are played out by wooden puppets. It brings back memories of Being John Malkovich for me. The puppets emote, move, and ultimately become the men as they tell the stories.
This is an excellent documentary and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s creative, the characters are intriguing, the puppets are actors, and the stories are real.
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