Twist of Faith (2004)

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

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.

This comment is both a review of the film and a response to the comment left by "braindog."The review aspect exists in the depth of the following argument. The issues raised by the film are painfully highlighted by braindog's comments.Dear "Braindog,"I went through a range of emotions as I read your comment on Twist of Faith. It began with anger, then disbelief, and finally pity. No, not pity for you. I don't know you at all. I feel pity for the endless line of children who are being sexually abused or will be in the years to come. A war on child sex abuse is like the war on terror or drugs; complete victory isn't possible, but that doesn't mean we stop fighting. Comments like yours are sheltered, insensitive, and dangerous. I pity the children who will be harmed because of a mindset like yours. The pedophile's best weapons come from other people. The public's silence, ignorance, and fear speaking against the popular view let pedophiles hide and endure because people won't attack child sex abuse head-on.How old are you? How would you react if an authority figure, trusted, loved, friendly, advanced on you when you were 15? It's easier in today's instant-message, on-demand, Internet-savvy world to dismiss the filmmakers' stories. It is harmful to think that because teens "know" about sex that they are mature enough to make the right decisions or have the strength to make sense of an insane reality, even today when sex and teens are synonymous in pop culture.Do you know the filmmakers? Do you know their families, go to their churches, attend their schools? I did. The film showed you the new reports, the testimonials, the tears, and the arraignments. What more did you want from it? This is a documentary, not a work of fiction.When you're older and perhaps have a teen-aged child of your own, maybe you'll begin to understand how young they are, how impressionable and vulnerable they are. You comments sickened me. They are children, and they need to be protect. And they need to be believed.

It's shocking to learn the amount of abuse inflicted by a lot of Catholic priests in the past. There's not a day when one hears about a new case as the abused come forward to accuse what criminal men did to them years ago. Kerby Dick, a brave film maker, takes his camera to a group of people that were the victims of one priest when they were teen agers.The documentary concentrates on Tony Comes, who finally had the courage to go on record to denounce his abuse. He had plenty of company, or so it seems. In fact, their bishop, who should have taken care in dealing with the corrupt priest, didn't do anything to prevent. In fact, this man chose the easy way out by ignoring the accusations.Wendy Comes, Tony's wife, is deeply affected when she learns the extent of what her husband suffered in the past. In fact, Wendy was wounded when she discovered the truth. In fact, she had converted to Catholicism when she married Tony. In spite of their trauma, we watch as the Comes' young daughter making her first communion, accompanied by her parents.Kirby Dick deserves to be congratulated for showing us how the actions of some evil individuals ruined lives by what they did to children who trusted them and saw in them role models.

Brilliant film! My wife and I watched it and were riveted. What a powerful subject and innovative use of "chain camera." The level of intimacy with the main subjects in the documentary is astonishing. In this case, the camera doesn't lie. Thanks to the filmmakers' original approach, we as viewers are lucky to observe this attractive, level-headed family with this degree of emotional depth. You can't help but like these people.Insight like this is helping to make the world a better place. Front page in the 6/ 30/05 L.A. Times just announced a $45.6 million settlement by the Catholic church here in California. We think this film deserves a big credit. Bravo.