Review of Being Different (1981) by Paul J — 02 Mar 2013
One year after the success of Lynch's Elephant Man, this documentary was released. Clearly, cashing in on its publicity. This would make an interesting double-bill with Todd Browning's Freaks. That said, Being Different is a surprisingly intelligent documentary.
The narration by Christopher Plummer is poetic and at times profound and the film creates a great deal of sympathy for the "irregular people". In fact, they never come across as being exploited.
(At least not by the filmmakers - more by themselves). The last subject (the woman with no arms) is particularly inspiring. She's strong-minded, positive and has such incredible determination. In fact, I was truly humbled.
Most of the film deals with Little People but there are plenty of other intriguing characters. A shame this hasn't been properly released. It's an important document.
This review of Being Different (1981) was written by Paul J on 02 Mar 2013.
Being Different has generally received positive reviews.
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