Rotten Tomatoes
Directed by Abigail Honor, this documentary follows the journey of a
gay couple whose sexual orientation -- or, at least, the religious
community's reaction to it -- is at odds with their devout Catholicism,
particularly in regards to getting married. Though the two men are able
to conquer the sizeable hurdle of finding a gay priest and a Catholic
church willing to host the ceremony, they find an equally intimidating
obstacle in the would-be attendees, who, despite being perfectly affable
friends beforehand,
become worried that their own eternal souls may be put in jeopardy by
participating in the wedding. As Saints and Sinners progresses, the
conventional line between the holy and the unholy are blurred as the
future grooms illustrate the lengths they are willing to go to in order
to officiate their love for one another. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
FilmThreat
One of the most effective, intelligent, mature and romantic love
stories to come across the screen recently is, of all things, a
documentary. The focus of the film are Edward DeBonis and Vincent
Maniscalco, a gay couple in New York who want to marry in their Catholic
faith. Their proposed union is not being presented as a political
statement, but rather as a sincere affirmation of their seven-year
relationship and their desire to share the sacred vows of marriage.
This is the foundation of “Saints and Sinners,” an extraordinary
feature by Abigail Honor and Yan Vizinberg which calmly and gently
demolishes every possible argument one could ever dream of hurling
against the subject of gay marriage. The film’s appearance comes at a
fortuitous time, given that gay marriage has become a subject of heated
and often operatic debate. Yet this beautifully conceived and
handsomely produced film addresses the issue from a pro-gay marriage
side with a level of decency and humanity that one has to question why
this is even an issue at all.
The Bible clearly states that the concept of marriage is the union of
a man and a woman. There is obviously no way to get around that fact.
The Bible also states that intimate relations between people of the
same sex is a sin. This is clearly stated, too, and if one adheres to
the sacred word there is no way to get around this fact. Of course, the
Bible also states that any sex which takes place outside of marriage is
a sin, and that sex between married couples which is not designed for
the goal of procreation is a sin, and that divorce is also a sin.
Conveniently, modern society has seen very little difficulty in getting
around these clearly stated facts.
“Saints and Sinners” is an assault against a rigid Catholic theocracy
which seems to be fairly selective in determining who is a sinner and
who is not (sort of like using the Bible as a buffet). DeBonis and
Maniscalco have a strong ally in Dignity NY, an organization of gay
Catholics who seek to keep to the protocols and traditions of the faith
while maintaining their right to live as openly gay adults. Dignity NY
is not welcome by today’s church, although an openly gay priest, Rev.
Raymond Lefebvre, officiates over the religious ceremonies (which are
not held in Catholic-consecrated surroundings).
In the course of “Saints and Sinners,” the couple and their priest
detail the special challenges that face this particular union. For
DeBonis, it was a long and rocky road in coming to terms with his sexual
identity. This involves flip-flopping between gay and straight worlds,
even leaving the gay orbit to marry a college sweetheart he broke off
with years earlier when he felt he was not heterosexual. For
Maniscalco, the road to self-identity was somewhat less bumpy, though he
faced the last-minute potential of humiliation when his family abruptly
decided not to be part of his wedding.
For Rev. Lefebvre (who is still a practicing priest, having never
been defrocked or excommunicated), there is the challenge of finding a
church that would host the wedding. No Catholic institution would allow
it, but a neighborhood Episcopalian church happily opened its doors.
There was also the sticky problem of getting the wedding announcement
published in the New York Times. While the newspaper recently changed
its policy to accommodate same-sex unions, Rev. Lefebvre’s theological
credentials and the physical environment of the ceremony (a Catholic
wedding in an Episcopalian church?) confused the Times endlessly; the
threat of pissing off the New York Archdiocese also seemed to weigh on
the possibility of canceling the newspaper coverage. During the wedding
ceremony, an awkward moment arises when Rev. Lefebvre prepares to give
Communion and no one steps forward. The filmmakers, however, wisely
acknowledge that both sides of the wafer and wine ceremony are on new
ground: the wedding guests share the Times’ quandary on the legitimacy
of the priest’s actions while the priest, officiating at a rare ceremony
where a considerable heterosexual audience is present, assumed the
Communion would be business as usual.
The polar opposites are also found elsewhere in the film where the
Gay Pride Parade rolls past St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A scattering of
protestors hold placards equating homosexuality with pedophilia (never
mind that Cardinal Edward Egan was damn lucky not to get his sorry ass
hauled into court for obstructing the investigations of child abuse
committed by priests under his authority). Yet the parade is thick with
displays from gay advocacy groups which, admittedly, are tacky and
rather offensive. Clearly both sides take pleasure in pissing the other
off. Yet somewhere in the middle are DeBonis and Maniscalco, who
clearly love each other and hold true to their faith, and who genuinely
believe that their love is not an evil but an affirmation of the basic
tenets of humanity and theology. Their actions are not a blatant
statement, like the leather men or drag queens of the parade, but it is a
positive statement of their desire to spend their years together as a
loving couple.
In lesser hands, “Saints and Sinners” could have been a shrill
experience–try finding a discussion of the subject in either the
mainstream media or the gay media that doesn’t fall into tiresome
name-calling. Yet the film pulls off a miracle by taking an emotional
issue and presents it with a serenity that puts emphasis on reason and
intelligence. DeBonis and Maniscalco are clearly in love with each
other and even before their wedding they seem to have fallen into a
pattern of behaving like a long-married couple. One scene at a clothier
where Maniscalco gets DeBonis to buy a brighter tie rather than a
conservative tie, even though DeBonis clearly prefers the darker hue and
is making the purchase outside of his better judgment, is gentle and
charming. Another scene finds them taking a dancing lesson to avoid the
possibility of embarrassing themselves at the reception. Between them
they have four left feet, yet their patience and the patience of their
dance instructor makes their rhythm-challenged dilemma both funny and
affectionate.
DeBonis and Maniscalco clearly state they are only seeking the same
level of rights that any straight couple would receive. Their emphasis
is not on legal rights (although it should be, given the state of
current American laws), but the right to be able to affirm their love
openly. They argue they are not trying to tear down the Judeo-Christian
foundations of Western civilization–they just don’t want to be placed
in a box by a society which lacks the maturity to acknowledge that some
people take a different path to reach common goals.
The Bible has been used over the centuries to justify war,
intolerance, slavery, racial discrimination, the extermination of people
based on their faith, the abuse of women and children, financial
chicanery, extremist political agendas and, increasingly, the
persecution of people based on their sexual orientation. For a book
whose main theme is love and respect (both of mankind and of God), it is
inconceivable how such horrible behavior in the name of all that is
holy could ever be justified with a straight face. “Saints and Sinners”
present DeBonis and Maniscalco as true Christians who do not veer from
their faith and do not fall into the temptation of taking vengeance
against those who wrong them. Rather than have them bow to church
doctrine, today’s church fathers could do well to learn a few things
from them. And audiences will do well to find “Saints and Sinners” and
give praise that the film addresses this touchy subject with such
uncommon grace.
Posted on June 18, 2004 in
Reviews by
Phil Hall
Full movie on SnagFilms
