Wow...this one's a weirdy...
Doris Wishman's schlock-umentary LET ME DIE A WOMAN is definitely one of the strangest things I've seen - and I've seen a lot. Appearing to be a somewhat "serious" documentary on the plight of the trans-sexual - it really comes off more as a sleazy exploit film piece-mealed together with some "scientific" elements.
The "story" is narrated by a Dr. Wollman, who is apparently an expert in all things trans-gendered. He basically pokes and prods these individuals with a metal probe, and recounts their "horrifying" trials and tribulations as trans-sexual individuals. Interspersed are oftentimes hilarious "re-enactments", and one pretty nasty portion of a male-to-female sex-change operation. There is also a repulsive scene where the good doctor probes a patients newly formed vagina (which looks more like it was made by a shotgun-blast then a scalpel...) with his finger. I only hope for the sake of the trans-sexual population that the medical community has made some MAJOR strides in terms of vaginal reconstruction since this film's creation...
In some ways, LET ME DIE A WOMAN seems as though it's truly sympathetic to the hardships of the trans-sexual community - and other times it seems as though the goal is simply to exploit them. To be honest, I couldn't care less as this is a subject I neither understand nor have any real interest in - this is another film that I watched strictly for curiosity's sake. For fans of uber-weirdo cinema, I'd say this one's a must-see, as they don't come much stranger than this - and it's honestly not even because of the subject matter. It's more because of how ineptly it's handled. I give the film a relatively decent rating because it's just so damned strange - most "mainstream" viewers won't care to watch this type of material...and honestly, I wouldn't blame 'em. 7/10
Doris Wishman's schlock-umentary LET ME DIE A WOMAN is definitely one of the strangest things I've seen - and I've seen a lot. Appearing to be a somewhat "serious" documentary on the plight of the trans-sexual - it really comes off more as a sleazy exploit film piece-mealed together with some "scientific" elements.
The "story" is narrated by a Dr. Wollman, who is apparently an expert in all things trans-gendered. He basically pokes and prods these individuals with a metal probe, and recounts their "horrifying" trials and tribulations as trans-sexual individuals. Interspersed are oftentimes hilarious "re-enactments", and one pretty nasty portion of a male-to-female sex-change operation. There is also a repulsive scene where the good doctor probes a patients newly formed vagina (which looks more like it was made by a shotgun-blast then a scalpel...) with his finger. I only hope for the sake of the trans-sexual population that the medical community has made some MAJOR strides in terms of vaginal reconstruction since this film's creation...
In some ways, LET ME DIE A WOMAN seems as though it's truly sympathetic to the hardships of the trans-sexual community - and other times it seems as though the goal is simply to exploit them. To be honest, I couldn't care less as this is a subject I neither understand nor have any real interest in - this is another film that I watched strictly for curiosity's sake. For fans of uber-weirdo cinema, I'd say this one's a must-see, as they don't come much stranger than this - and it's honestly not even because of the subject matter. It's more because of how ineptly it's handled. I give the film a relatively decent rating because it's just so damned strange - most "mainstream" viewers won't care to watch this type of material...and honestly, I wouldn't blame 'em. 7/10
