One of Us

Dir: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady

2017

***

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s infamous fly on the wall documentary Jesus Camp was a terrifying look at how religion has become twisted, manipulated and the opposite of what it thinks it is. It focused in one particular subject – a Christian summer camp for kids. In their 2017 documentary ‘One of Us’ the spectrum is much wider, but unfortunately a little less focused. I really do the it when people accuse such documentaries as being ‘unbalanced’ in their views because religion, unless being discussed in a wider sense, is either going to be told from the side of a believer or non-believer. A documentary that seeks out to find the truth of whether God really exists would be long, arduous and wouldn’t have a conclusion, certainly not one that would please everyone. One of Us chronicles the lives of three ex-Hasidic Jews who all live in Brooklyn. The film is of course one-sided, the Hasidic community and synagogue aren’t exactly going to take part in a film of this nature. I believe everything the three subjects say, the tales of violence, sexual abuse and mental starvation all ring true. One lives in fear, a young women ostracized by her community and family with children to think of. Another has more confidence but is still clearly haunted by his experiences and the last is young and struggles with his new found freedom, eventually turning to drugs and anything else that can numb the pain. The young women has children, that is her main focus but the two men feel lost, now that they have fled everything they have ever known. They know they don’t agree with where they were but they don’t know enough about outside life in order to function like an average member of society. Once more Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady focus on how religion can close the mind and how people struggle when their questions are not answered. The way abuse is accepted and then covered up is also distressing. I don’t think religious people should be offended, as the wrongs here are human, we’re a bad race, religion is one of the many ways we try and justify our bad nature. I think the three subjects were exceptionally brave for coming out against their communities, especially as they had many friends and family still within them. Other members would come up to them in the street and were defensibly hostile, which won’t do their community any good. The interesting aspect for me was learning of the support organisations (Footsteps) for people who leave the community. The interviews were hard to listen to but also fascinating. I’m sure much of their experiences would also shock the Hasidic community, so I hope they see the film also and enter into dialogue. I’m an atheist but I say live and let live, believe in whatever you have to – you can’t prove God exists and I can’t prove he doesn’t but I do believe in people (as horrible as they can be) and open communication and mutual respect. If you hide your faults behind God and are okay with that then your religion means nothing. It doesn’t have the same impact of Jesus Camp but it is compelling and it outs an important truth.