In the run-up to her election in 2022, right-wing Italian Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni declared, “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology.”
It’s an odious promise she’s upheld, as last autumn, her government expanded their ban on domestic surrogacy to include citizens traveling abroad for the procedure. And with President Donald Trump invoking an executive order recognizing only two genders, and Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister hopeful Pierre Poilievre parroting the same sentiment, the rights and protections of LGBTQ+ people have never been more imperiled. Thus, it’s with a welcome shimmer of empathy during these dark days, that Gianluca Matarrese’s documentary GEN_ debuts at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a reminder that away from political theatre, there is a humane and sensitive medical community caring for people whose lives are more complex and difficult than news cycle chyrons suggest.
The offices of the Diagnosis and Therapy of Sterility and Cryopreservation department at Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy do their best to focus on the patient in front of them, and not the discourse around their care. Headed by the renowned Dr. Maurizio Bini, the focus of Matarrese’s film, he’s a generous, thoughtful, and pragmatic physician who believes his duty situates him “between what is right and what is legal.” In practice, as evidenced across the observational GEN_, it means advocating for the best outcomes for his patients both emotionally and physically. Set in the run-up to his retirement, the picture drops viewers into his consultation room as he advises people on their journey through transitioning, and those planning to start a family.
The mosaic of individuals we meet throughout GEN_ — from women looking for a last chance to conceive, to convicts hoping to transition — is the film’s greatest strength, highlighting that there is no typical patient profile. Among the most insightful visits is from an adolescent who is gingerly investigating transitioning. The eye-opening conversation sees the doctor gently probing their reasoning, background, and history, emphasizing a sensitive approach before further steps are taken. “Our aim is to bring you back into harmony with your body,” he says to the teen and their parents, underscoring that there is a wide and beautiful space between hormone therapy and surgery for someone to find their true selves.
The film’s delicate and nuanced look at the sensitive care provided by Dr. Bini and his staff is often interrupted by the score from Cantoutoma. The group’s jazzy interludes — distractingly FM-lite, and occasionally discordant — aims to bring levity in the spaces between difficult discussions. However, it could be argued that relying on Dr. Bini’s considerate yet candid bedside manner is all the dramatic weight the picture needs. Equally superfluous are the sidebars to hospital construction and Dr. Bini’s mushroom foraging hobby which operate as clunky metaphors for the sophistication of human biology.
Fortunately, the engaging Dr. Bini smooths over those modest rough patches. As the doctor occupies almost every minute, the picture effortlessly showcases the standard of attentive, compassionate, and professional care that he has set at the institution. Many of the stories will be hard to shake when the lights come up, but it might be Bogdan that audiences will be thinking of most. The young waiter — abandoned as a toddler by his biological mother — fears being forsaken again if his adoptive parents don’t reconcile with his decision to transition. Gently, Dr. Bini encourages Bogdan to involve his parents, and even calls his mother to persuade her to come to the next appointment. And to see Bogdan, who has suffered so much, laugh and break into an endearing and infectious smile at finally receiving the care they’ve long deserved, it’s the strongest argument of them all that trans rights are human rights.
Director: Gianluca Matarrese
Screenplay: Gianluca Matarrese, Donatella Palermo, Alexandre Iordachescu
Producers: Dominique Barneaud, Donatella Palermo, Alexandre Iordachescu
Cinematography: Gianluca Matarrese
Editing: Giorgia Villa
Music: Cantautoma
Sound: Gianluca Matarrese
Production companies: Bellota Films (France), Stemal Entertainment (Italy), Elefant Films (Switzerland)
Venue: Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Documentary Competition)
In Italian
104 minutes