As a documentary about politically incendiary subjects — including medical transition and the discrimination faced by transgender communities — Italian documentary “GEN_” is unconventionally persuasive. Directed by Gianluca Matarrese, the film follows several months in the life of the elderly Dr. Bini, a quirky, fast-talking fertility and hormone specialist in the twilight of his career, whose job comes with navigating both his patient’s personal lives, and the conservative legalese by which they’re bound.
On paper, the movie’s arguments seem quite simple. It aims to create a sense of normalcy around trans bodies, discussions of gender dysphoria and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other nontraditional pregnancies. However, its methods are anything but straightforward. Its oblique introduction begins with Bini foraging for mushrooms on a hillside, presenting him as a man in touch with nature in the abstract, before the movie yanks us into the fold of his profession. This not only paints a wider picture of his life and interests outside his Milan office, but frames his medical specialties as part of this natural world — his focus is the nature of human bodies, desires and impulses — rather than as something aberrant, as in the minds of detractors.
Much of the documentary is composed of sit-down consultations across Bini’s desk, revealing his bedside manner as familiar but to-the-point. These are mostly shot in profile, which might seem counter-intuitive for a film hoping to endear us to its subjects (the movie’s head-on close-ups are rare), but this seemingly clinical, factual approach has a two-part effect. While it creates an academic remove, it also allows Bini to slowly but surely cross that divide through his numerous conversations as he rattles off facts, figures and options to trans- and cisgender patients alike.
Some visit him for reasons of gender transition (both surgical and hormonal), while others are trying to get pregnant after various difficulties. The film, by way of Bini’s expertise, sheds light on the numerous methods and complications that surround both these facets of human experience and, in the process, illuminates their political dimensions each time Bini tells his patients what they’re up against.
However, the film isn’t interested in debating the humanity of its subjects. As far as “GEN_” and its central subject are concerned, the matter of trans people’s humanity is an open-and-shut case, and Bini also sees his role as one of comfort in the face of those who don’t agree. He often creates a casual environment through jokes and familiar jabs, which makes his patients feel at ease — young trans men in particular, with whom he banters. However, with laws and political discourse constantly in flux, Bini’s job, and his ability to properly care for his patients, feels in danger, sending him on the hunt for a protégé in a what appears to be a dwindling field.
“GEN_” uses the looming political threats to Bini’s work as a backdrop, rather than a centerpiece, and instead allows its arguments to become self-evident. His variety of patients have personal hopes, dreams and fears, upon which the good doctor touches, always making sure to ask whether they have a partner in their lives or family members on whom they can rely during difficult times. However, neither Bini nor the movie is bogged down by overt sentiment.
The film unfurls in idiosyncratic ways, scoring interludes between consultations with upbeat, mischievous and utterly compelling music by composers Cantautoma as it oscillates between endearing and amusing. Oftentimes, it’s both, and its ability to craft a casual atmosphere in which this is possible is perhaps its greatest strength. However, it also notably resembles a tongue-in-cheek heist film on one brief occasion, when Bini is forced to choose what’s ethical over what’s strictly legal when performing a procedure.
Bini’s consultations take up much of the movie’s runtime, and while none of them lasts too long, there are a seemingly endless number from which to pull. The sheer volume of these provides numerous inroads into understanding not just the issues with which he deals — from the complexities of sperm donorship to Italy’s laws surrounding trans male pregnancy — but the people behind those issues. The sheer variety of humanity on display serves a vital cinematic function: By alternating between cases that are transgender-specific and those that aren’t — but by treating them with the same deft hand — “GEN_” essentially affirms, through its overarching structure, that trans healthcare is like any other healthcare, and ought to be treated as such.
