Raising Face: A Menstrual Journey

Every 28 days or so females of child-bearing age shed an unfertilized egg and uterus lining in what we commonly call menstruation, a period, our menses, the curse. The fact that three out of ten husbands tend to meet violent deaths or die in their sleep during that same 28 day cycle is purely a coincidence. ("Your honor, I stabbed him 150 times because he asked me if he had any clean underwear." "Case dismissed.") In Raising Face: A Menstrual Journey, filmmaker Wendy Surinsky interviews a small group of women who bare their souls as well as personal hygiene habits and body maintenance tips (Stephen King wouldn't even go there!). The interviewees talk about their first periods, and vaguely discuss relationships with their mothers, daughters, boyfriends, etc., as they create a drawing of what their period means to them. In other words, rather than teaching the audience about the cultural, religious and personal taboos and rich history surrounding the subject of menstruation, this film is more of an art as therapy routine, and it's a technically poor routine at that, with muddled-sounding questions and answers which were often literally unintelligible. In short, Surinsky has created a personal film that hopefully has helped her come to terms with her own menstruation experience but won't necessarily rock the world of most viewers. A very optional purchase, except perhaps for large academic health collections focusing on women's issues. Aud: H, C. (N. Plympton)