P(l)ain Truth

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Available Summary:

P(l)ain Truth is a symbolic documentary which tells the story of a transsexual and uses extreme audio-visual means to describe her/his emotions during the different stages of her/his transformation from a biological woman into a biological man. P(l)ain Truth is based on the real case of a person called Rudi. It is a visual record of her/his memories, experiences, and aspirations... P(l)ain Truth lists the complex procedures involved in the transformation from woman to man, which includes several different phases: psychological/psychiatric evaluation, hormonal medication, wearing only masculine clothes and using a masculine name, plastic surgery, breast amputation, penis construction and changing the birth certificate.

-Crystal Eye.

Jack's Summary:

This is a very graphic short film, which may cause many trans men dysphoria. Particularly, viewers should prepare for graphic, bloody footage of childbirth, and footage of a pre-op chest. There are flashing/strobing lights and loud/jarring sound design. There is a lot of non-sexual, artistic nudity.

To summarise this film, it is essentially an intense depiction of gender dysphoria and a medical transition, also addressing the role of psychiatry in policing trans gender expression/experiences.

Rudi is shown in childhood, trying to do schoolwork while a teacher raps him over the knuckles in punishment. As an adult, he is then shown presenting femininely prior to top surgery. He takes off his feminine clothing and puts on masculine clothing. When he goes out in public in this masculine attire, however, he is stared at by judgemental people who, it is implied, have noticed the shape of his chest.

He returns home, tears off his clothing, and forcefully binds his chest with bandages. The dangers of binding this way are not addressed a post-credits note or some such. The binding is also quite oddly done, with the dysphoria-inducing areas of Rudi's chest not bound nearly as well as the rest of his torso.

Pre-op Rudi is then shown lying on a bed which is rotating in a black void. The camera zooms in on his groin before zooming out again, showing a post-op Rudi (portrayed by the real Rudi himself) lying on the bed, top surgery scars visible.

Rudi is then shown lying in a hospital bed. He sits up, unbuttons his pyjama top, and unwraps bandages from his chest to reveal long-since healed mastectomy scars and a hormonally transitioned body. He then goes to a pool, where he swims nude with other men. The film ends.

Another theme tackled in this film is the role of psychiatry in Rudi's transition, decades ago as I write this. Psychiatric questionnaires scroll past above footage of Rudi, one focusing on gender incongruence, the other focusing on overall mental wellbeing. The first asks how Rudi is viewed by others and how he presents himself, with Rudi's notes seeming to question what constitutes a male or female name and male or female clothing, then proceeding to ask what medical interventions Rudi has undergone and what he wishes to explore in future. The second questionnaire asks about physical and psychological wellbeing.

Throughout P(l)ain Truth, Rudi is also shown burning childhood photographs, with those photographs projected onto the wall as he lies in his hospital bed. He leaves the photographs behind when he gets up from the hospital bed.

In the credits of the film, four actors are listed under the female symbol (♀), including Rudi himself. I'd be curious to know whether Rudi was aware of this or requested it. I wonder the same about the overview of the film, given how Rudi is addressed.