CR: Protagonist

What do an ‘ex-gay’ evangelist, a martial arts student, a former German terrorist, and a one-time career bank robber all have in common? This is the question filmmaker Jessica Yu both poses and answers in her new feature length documentary Protagonist, competing in the Independent Film Documentary competition at Sundance.

The film is a combination of the typical talking-head style interviews and archival material, but in an extremely original (and strangely, engagingly cinematic) twist, Yu stages all the reenactments with wooden rod puppets in the style of Ancient Greek tragedy stage performances. The puppets faces and heads are modeled after large wooden masks actors would wear on stage. Yu has stated she deliberately chose rod puppets (puppets operated from rods below the stage) and not marionettes because of their superior level of control and also “to avoid the symbolic implications projected by puppets controlled by strings from above.” In addition to reenactments, the puppets are used in short scenes from 5th Century B.C. playwright Euripides’ body of work (this film actually evolved from an proposition to make a documentary about Euripides) that act as prefaces to the film’s five acts.

The film begins with what leads these men into the extreme immersion into their lifestyles – their childhoods. Three out of the four men – Hans-Joachim Klein (the German terrorist), Joe Loya (bank robber), and Mark Salzman (martial artist) – suffer through physical and mental abuse growing up. Klein and Loya’s are at the hands of their fathers, and Salzman’s is at the hands of schoolyard bullies. Mark Pierpont, the ‘ex-gay’ evangelist, does not face persecution for his homosexuality, but feels intense guilt as he believes sexual attraction to men is a Hell-worthy sin in the eyes of God. All four seek to empower themselves, and begin separate odysseys that, though very different in plot, overlap thematically.

Of the four stories contained within the film, my two personal favorites are Klein and Salzman. Klein’s rise from political activist to internationally wanted terrorist, to political exile supported by money raised by Jean-Paul Sartre is one of those stranger-than-fiction historical document. And Salzman’s recounting of his insane Kung Fu instructor are priceless – the guy would set his students loose in a cemetery at night and hunt them down then beat the hell out of them. Loya’s and Piermont’s are equally strong. Loya’s honesty and understanding of himself, and his ability to reform, provide the film’s most touching moments. And Piermont is great to listen to – I’ve never heard anyone so intensely religious who has managed to keep such an open mind; he’s someone with true understanding of what faith is about.

Best documentary I’ve seen at Sundance so far.