Southern Comfort

2001 "Love is a many-gendered thing"
7.6| 1h30m| en
Details

This moving documentary chronicles the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a trans man dying of ovarian cancer. We're introduced to several prominent figures in Robert's life -- most importantly, his life partner and caretaker Lola Cola, who is also trans. The two prepare to lead a panel at the annual Southern Comfort conference, a yearly event created for transgender individuals.

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HBO Documentary Films

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Reviews

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
kaz4417 This movie was captivating from the start. The trans-gendered people have almost always been a mystery and existed on the fringe of society, but this film put a human face on this issue. It showed how we all have a need to be together and share our hope and dreams with one another, and it also showed that the politics of friendship know no specific sexual preference barriers. My heart went out to most of these people shown in this project because they have been treated so poorly by society as a whole. Robert Eads died because there were no medical professionals willing to treat him. In the greatest democracy in the history of the world, we still view some citizens as sub-human. It was such an eye opening experience that is still haunts me to this day. Hopefully this film can lead us to a dialog and a dialog can lead us to real change.
idreaminamythyst At its essence, Kate Davis's film, Southern Comfort, is about a transgendered man who is dying from cancer in his female reproductive organs. Southern Comfort is more than this, however. It also deals with the intricacies of the social community that the main character, Robert Eads, has surrounded himself with since transitioning from female to male, details the romantic attachment that Robert has formed with his girlfriend Lola Cola near the end of his life, and examines the dynamics between Robert and his genetic family. More than this, Southern Comfort engages in a discourse on human sexuality that serves to enlighten the audience viewing the film on the realities of transgendered life in the backcountry of the Deep South.
TL27 Another great documentary shown on HBO's America Undercover series.I found this to be an ultimately sad film.It made me appreciate my own life and glad I am happy in my own skin.I wish these people happiness.....somewhere in their lives.
Bob This film won the Grand Jury Documentary prize at Sundance this year.Against the narrative of Robert, a transgender female-to-male responding to the irony of ovarian cancer, the director creates a deeply moving portrayal of love and determination in the face of prejudice.Robert lives in rural Georgia, which he describes as "Bubba country" and the "home of the KKK." Nonetheless most of Robert's encounters with the heterosexual community are recounted as upbeat examples of surprising tolerance. Without any pretense, artifice, or apology, he is magnetically compelling in speech and movement. His complete lack of bitterness sets aside the distractions of his cancer, enabling the viewer share his satisfaction in life as a man and his joy in his relationships.In spite of challenging subject matter, this documentary of Robert's self-selected "family" of transgendered men and women (and one heterosexual partner) is unerring in its ability to humanize without condescension. By not politicizing or sensationalizing her subjects' gender issues, the director has achieved a profoundly affecting emotional depth.The film is loving and in its clarity, refreshing. I recommend it highly.