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Born Without review
:. Director: Eva Norvind
:. Genre: Documentary
:. Running Time: 1:26
:. Year: 2007
:. Country: Mexico
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Originally released in Mexico in 2007, Born Without is part of the Ambulante festival, which is organized by Mexican films stars Gael García Bernal (The Motrocycle Diaries) and Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) and aims at showcasing Mexican films in remote areas that do not have cinemas.
Directed by the late Eva Norvind, a dominatrix turned filmmaker, Born Without brushes the portrait of Jose Flores, a handicapped musician and actor who appeared in Alejandro Jodorowsky's cult psychedelic western Holy Mountain. While this documentary obviously approaches its subject at times from a social angle, showing us how handicapped people are perceived — and treated — in Mexico, Mr. Flores's life is colorful enough to explore his personality past his handicap.
To her credit, Ms. Norvind doesn't try to hit the audience with strong doses of pathos, which would have been easy, knowing that Mr. Flores is not only a midget but has no arms and suffers from diabetes. Instead she shows a man who is mentally strong enough to use his appearance as part of his personality rather than acting as a victim of fate. While he obviously is a good poster boy for how handicapped people in general are treated in modern Mexican society — and we can see that they are not well considered by authorities and lack any type of official aid — he was also able to use his physical appearance — intentionally or not — for various purposes, from becoming an actor to attracting quite a few girlfriends.
Following Mr. Flores in his every day life, from being the father of a big family to performing in the streets, one can't help but being conquered by his sympathetic personality and upbeat spirit. But one can also notice that there is something sneaky about this and as we near the conclusion of this documentary, one discovers a family secret that might make some uncomfortable.
But to be frank, despite this unexpected twist, an out-of-the-ordinary life and the presence of popular interviewees such as Mr. Jodorowsky, I was left somewhat unmoved by this documentary. Most likely due to the fact that Ms. Norvind wasn't a filmmaker, Born Without seems like an aimless work that knows it has a good subject but doesn't know what to do with it — the social commentary is too light while insignificant scenes abound. As a result, this looks more like a film school project than a feature documentary that should be showcased at film festivals and even win awards. A flat portrait lacking a thematic narrative and purpose, Born Without also fails because Mr. Flores isn't enough of an exciting subject to make you hold your seat for 86mn — evidence that a good subject doesn't always guarantee a good film.
Fred Thom
 Documentary Reviews: 1998 - 2011
Documentary Reviews: 2012 - present
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