Review of Lake of Fire (2006) by Nathaniel H — 03 Jan 2010

Whether you're a infanticide loving Feminazi or a women hating Bible thumping fundamentalist, Lake of Fire makes a couple rather cogent points. I kid of course with those labels, director Tony Kaye spent 18 years making this documentary on the most controversial of issues and actually went bankrupt in the mid 1990s only to conclude that he still doesn't know where he stands on abortion. He gives both sides a fair hearing and a chance to air their views in substantial detail. The movie is unflinching: he shows photos of dead fetuses, women who died from botched abortions, and footage of abortions being performed.

For many viewers, your views on abortion will be challenged. Mine were reinforced. I am as convinced as ever that the abortion debate is between two camps: one side that basically believes in choice and secular liberal democracy and another side that cares little about unborn babies and is more concerned with tradition, imposing their beliefs on others, and keeping women in their place. Of course abortion is not a pretty thing and ideally should be a rare occurrence, but the pro-choice side wants to limit the grisliness to the embryo or fetus; the pro-life side in their willful refusal to recognize that abortions are going to happen no matter what, supports in effect TWO victims to every abortion.

Alas, I digress. As someone who majored in political science and has read extensively on the subject, I wish I could recommend the documentary more highly but there are quite a few points I found lacking. Kaye has shot the 2 1/2 hour documentary in black and white which is harsh and unforgiving on every imperfect follicle that makes it seem more grueling than it otherwise would be. Lacking in color Lake of Fire doesn't feel-surprisingly-that personal for Kaye and could have used more shape to give it a rhythm and catharsis (looking at the documentary is like seeing a tent with the poles poked through its fabric but not yet erected). The movie also might have been more powerful and more urgent if Kaye had it revolve around one woman resorting to abortion and return to her specific story several times throughout (and counterpoint that with a comparable story on the pro-life side). Doing so what have done quite a bit to tie the movie together, making it feel more organized and cohesive. As it is Kaye gets too bogged down with showing looney, terrifying physician killers along with the perfectly sane religious movement, and academics on other side. By spending so much time around these opinionated, passionate men, he's made the same mistake that almost everyone has for the last forty years on abortion: he's forgotten that the whole debate is about women, fundamentally, and their well-being.

* As an aside, it always fascinates me to hear about the Christian Reconstructionist movement (which is chillingly depicted in Lake of Fire) that wants to execute abortionists, sodomites, those who blasphemy, and many others. All of this is advocated for and would be done in a Christian society in the name of Jesus. Now, we can all debate where Jesus would stand on the issues if he was here today. But isn't safe to suspect that as a person who was brutally and unjustly executed, Jesus would be just a little wary of all these state-sanctioned killings?