Accomplished documentary filmmaker Penny Lane turns the camera on herself for the funny and emotionally charged Confessions of Good Samaritan, a look at her attempts to give back to the world in a unique way.
In 2017, Lane (Hail Satan?, Listening to Kenny G, Nuts!, Our Nixon) came to the realization that her life is pretty great, and that she had reached a point of success she previously never thought she could achieve. In trying to come up with a way to meaningfully give back to the world, Lane decides she’s going to be an “altruistic donor,” giving up one of her kidneys to a complete stranger in need.
Lane is just as refreshingly candid of an interview subject as she is a filmmaker, despite her repeated protests that she abhors being put on camera. But despite the deeply personal nature of Confessions of a Good Samaritan, Lane never loses sight of the bigger issues in play, leading to a work that’s disarming in its social and psychological weight.
Using a fun, funky style of shifting things around on a computer desktop to make it look like the film is coming together in real time, Lane uses her experience to touch on a number of different topics surrounding her impending kidney donation. What drives people to want to save the life of a stranger without expecting anything in return, and why does this behaviour sometimes creep other people out? How can these gifts of life impact society, and why is the vetting process for doing something like this so intense and restrictive? Is there such a thing as a selfless act?
Lane also puts herself out there is a pretty brave light throughout Confessions of a Good Samaritan, never shying away from discussing stress, self-doubt, body image, or her own mental health struggles. And she does so with the same amount of good humour that marks her other documentaries. It might not convince everyone who sees it to go under the knife themselves, but Confessions of a Good Samaritan is a deceptively rich work that will change the way people see the world. It’s absolutely lovely.
Saturday, May 6, 2023 – TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 – 5:45 pm
Hot Docs has partnered with Sunshine Therapy Dogs to host a therapy dog visit before the screening.
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