Twist of Faith

2004
7.2| 1h27m| en
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A man confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse as a boy by a Catholic priest only to find his decision shatters his relationships with his family, community and faith.

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HBO Documentary Films

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Reviews

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Jovan Nikolic While most of the comments I've read and even when talking with friend, I noticed that all of them was concerned with completely opposite of what I think is important. With sexual abuse. And while "Twist of Faith" undeniably deals with post traumatic state after sexual abuse, it is much more.The story follows Tony Comes, a firefighter from Toledo (Ohio), in his struggles and attempts to recuperate from years of sexual abuse by local Catholic priest, Dennis Gray. There are a lot of shocking moments but I think that most shocking occurred at the very beginning of documentary. Priest Dennis Gray was interrogated by state attorney at the court, and I think that it would be best to just quote both questions and answers:St. attorney: And what did you do after graduating from high school?D. Gray: I went into seminary – St. Gregory, Cincinnati.St. attorney: Why did you decide to go into the seminary?D. Gray: I decided that it would be a good life if I was a priest.One could contemplate for years about religion and it seems that our capacities for being able to trust and actually dedicate our lives to Faith are endless. Yet, what scared me greatly. It's not that I was living in Disneyland before this documentary film, but the level of banality that answer contained was above my "expectations". Instead of almost life-long thinking, dedicating yourself to learning and reconsideration of such a decision, Dennis Gray just "wanted good life". And while most of audience perceived D. Gray as "evil" I just consider him as a plain, simple organism only trying to satisfy his basic animal instincts, like most of people.
dosanjh1 Please read the comments by Roger Brunton in this forum to receive an eloquent view of this film. I quote from him:- "This subject matter shouldn't even exist for it to be brought to people to understand through film" How to describe the devastation of acts of evil committed to another Being? This documentary lets a victim demonstrate the results, the summation of his life-abused into 90 minutes.Tony Comes starts this diary as a macho Fireman assured of himself. During the film he doubts what is most precious to him. His Sexuality, his marriage, his role as a father and ultimately his religion.The viewer is a voyeur in what happens 20 years after acts of depravity. Tony cannot hold his marriage together, he is forced into explaining extreme and unfathomable situations to his young children, he is unable to communicate with his son in the way a father should because HE IS A VICTIM, his faith in God is questioned, he is scared of being labelled a "fag" or a "queer." There are a enough problems in his life that would make him want to quit the course that he is now taking. He is acutely aware to challenge the Catholic Church is a process that will take years and much heartache but a sense of right drives him forward.There are no happy endings in this film only disgust and resolutions to be vigilant with one's children.To go back to the quote at the beginning of this review, this difficult piece should not be considered a film, or even a documentary.It is news.Our much vaulted media (print and vision) should bring stories like this to our attention so we as people can demonstrate our anger. When "they" talk about it they are more interested in the salacious details. There are more interested in the monster who committed the acts. The people affected are often shifted to the background as "supporting cast." Twist of Faith firmly puts them to the forefront. Not just the victim but his partner, their children and the effect on the wider community.I believe this film was nominated for an Oscar. Congratulations to the Academy for promoting this film.
perlix A great, moving movie! Kirby Dick's films have always shown not only a light touch but an unerring impulse for the right emotional detail, revealing gesture and sense of when to pull back. In "Twist of Faith" he lets the points make themselves: the Church condones child abuse, they cover their tracks and lie about it. Dick's use of church music is especially telling, as is his judicious implementation of his "chain camera" technique: giving subjects their own video-cams to record their thoughts, document outward aspects of their lives and make occasional but heartbreaking confession. If only Art could make Change! Now THAT would be a Twist.
braindog Think of me as you will. My opinion is based on the film and it's message and not the Mr. Comes, just to make things clear. This film is supposed to show the traumaitzation of a man who was abused by a member of the Catholic Church when he was a young "boy". The problem with the whole story is, the stories that are being told are from men who claim to been abused at the ages from 12- 16. They say that they were unaware of what was happening to them and that they (the victim) would wake up and there was a man from the Church having their way with them. These story tellers say that at the time they weren't sure what was happening and that they let it occur. Right off the bat, I would say that those statements have no validity. In and around the age of thirteen, teenagers know about sex in way or another. You learn it from school, society, or family. To say you don't seems to be the way to cope with allowing your curiosity to happen. I remember I was in the fifth grade when we were given the crash course on sex, so at that age I was 10 or 11. Things that weren't taught (obviously) I learned from peers. So at that age I was aware of what sex was and would have some sort of idea of what may have been happening. What the story tellers also fail to mention is that they weren't coming forth about the abuse (if that's what they thought it was then) to anyone. Not parents of friends, or any one else in the Church. They allowed it to happen and happen multiple times. I mean, once they were 16 and the abuse was continuing, there was no excuse that they would still have no idea what was happening. They show a man referred to "John Doe" who remembers being drunk and naked and being in bed with a alleged sex offender and nothing else. He goes on how that experience disturbed him, but then he recalls experimenting with this man. How? First he said he didn't remember, but remembers everything else and was disturbed, but then allowed it to happen on another occasion. Why? This is only one small example, there are many other points that are trying to be made that get spun around based on the reactions and delays of the "victims" described in the film. Another example (a large one at that) is that even though one person in the film claims he is haunted by what happened everyday and that he is against the church (due to a lawsuit he's filed about 18 years later), the Church is still a big part of his life. He was married in a Catholic Church, sent his daughter to a Catholic school, and we see her receive her first Communion. And feeling all this bitterness and frustration with the church, he goes in and accepts Communion with his daughter. Once again, if this is all so traumatic and one claims to be abused or raped and lied too, why go back to this church? Why accept Communion, something sacred to this church? It's backwards. It's things like this that hurt the credibility of this film and it's story tellers. It rides the wake to a major controversy in America. It doesn't seem like a documentary, but like a movie of fiction. It tries to strike emotions with circumstances that seemed staged. The point and message of this film is lost with it's irony. I feel sorry for the story tellers not because of what they claim has happened, but because this film hurts what they have to say.to the film makers, this is a bad film.D- To all of you users here on IMDb, I stand by what I say. It's simple psychology since we are now being told a story decades down the road from what they claim happened. Over the years stories stretch and wear, till the very foundation has changed. I still find this movie to be dis-miss able. And personally to colorscheme, my review of a bad film was straight forward to the point using references from the film, therefore I am backing up my opinion so you can see for yourself. It's your review that has the wide array of emotions, not mine. I told you to think of me as you will, but truth be told and I'll say it again, this movie is awful and has a message lost in translation.