A thoughtful piece which interweaves slices of everyday life with social commentary, Into My Name is an ambitious, yet seamlessly executed documentary.
★★★★★
Directed by Nicolò Bassetti, Into My Name is a documentary that follows the journey of four trans men at different points in their transition, as they explore and redefine the boundaries of gender. There is Leo, a philology graduate, and the narrator of the documentary; Nico who, despite being the oldest, is the newcomer; Andrea, a writer and philosophy graduate; and Raff, a co-owner of a bike shop. Bassetti successfully captures the similarities in the men’s experiences, while also flashing each of them out as a person with their own struggles.
So often the LGBTQ+ community is seen as a monolith, with cis white gay men at the helm, speaking for everyone. One example is the 2015 film Stonewall which, directed by Roland Emmerich. Centered around the real life 1969 demonstrations sparked in New York City after a police raid, the film completely erased the roles that trans POC people like Marsha P. Johnson played in the protests. In contrast, Into My Name is an incredibly personal story, and a document of the trans experience told from their perspective.
Nicola Bassetti directs the material with a suitably detached eye, while also adding an incredibly personal touch to the material through a collaboration with his son Matteo—a 26-year-old trans man. The communication between the director and his son manifests in the movie as an openness, providing necessary education for a wider audience, while not alienating the subjects of the documentary. Elliot Page, who famously came out as transgender in 2020, is an executive producer on this project. He has praised Bassetti for working so closely with the trans community through production, and that closeness is deeply felt.
The best documentaries find their strength in depth, not breadth. In fact, one of the strengths of this film is that it does not aim to narrate the story of all trans men. Rather, it looks at a very specific culture. While the four men all come from different cities, they are all Italian. Therefore, discussions around gender and language are allowed a degree of nuance and specificity more difficult in more general settings. For instance, a topic discussed was the lack of a gender-neutral pronoun in the Italian language. There is a flow, a simplicity in the way these men interact among them, that makes the full story flow more freely than a standard documentary.
Representation of trans people in media tends to take one of two forms: either they are erased; or their experiences are turned into a spectacle. The latter usually takes on the form of inappropriate questions regarding surgery, sexualization and violence. It would be incorrect to say that Into My Name merely wants to normalize the trans experience. Its aim is much more ambitious as it seeks to humanize it.
In a media landscape poisoned by transphobia, Into My Name is an essential watch
As the narrator of the film, Leo offers insights as both a subject and a narrator allowing the film to delve in-depth into several conversations about gender while comparing personal stories. These are always natural and never forced, and often filled with humour and lightness. For instance, Raff and his best friend Dario quickly pick apart every notion of gender while choosing his new bike colour. He picks a pastel pink, a traditionally feminine colour. Raff notes how, after transitioning, it would be absurd for him to let gender roles define his identity. After all, why transition at all if that meant being caged by a set of different expectations?
Documentaries aren’t often known for their cinematography. Yet the profound soul of this film is voiced in part through its breath-taking colours. For instance, the first shot of the film is a city outline, characterised by a cooler palette. The tone set in this first shot remains consistent throughout. A meditative piece, with slices of everyday life contrasted against major life-altering moments, such as gender affirming surgeries. The shots reflect this duality. The shots of everyday activities are characterized by being either static or linear movements. This provides a sense of calm, peaceful achievement in everyday settings, opposed to the frantic feel provided by the more dynamic camera movements in more emotional settings. While all four men are still on their journey, they are shown as largely content in their current existence. Given how LGBTQ+ stories tend to be dramatized for the sake of entertainment, this was a refreshing change of pace.
Into My Name is a beautiful celebration of freedom. It is informational, as all documentaries should be, while also benefiting from a clear artistic vision. It recognizes the social need for representation, while never pandering to a specific political agenda. In a media landscape poisoned by transphobia, Into My Name is an essential watch.
The Verdict
A reflection on the authenticity we owe to ourselves, Into My Name is an exploration of self that goes beyond identity politics. A stunning piece that interweaves the lives of four trans men with depth, without being weighed down by self-seriousness.
Words by Elisabetta Pulcini
This film screened as part of Berlinale 2022 and you can find all of our coverage of the festival here
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