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Reel World: Paper Dolls
Dolls pushes sexual, cultural, personal boundaries
By Nicholas Dewart
dewart@mscd.edu

Paper Dolls Not rated 80 minutes Opens Oct. 13

Paper Dolls is an entertaining documentary about five Filipino men who immigrate to Israel for better pay and the chance to live out their desire to be entertainers.

Cheska, Chiqui, Giorgio, Jan and Sally work as caretakers in an elderly community by day. But by night they perform in dance shows as women under the moniker “Paper Dolls.”

Writer and director Tomer Heymann captures these transsexual men during their stay in a country with strict immigration laws and a scornful religious community.

“They look at me like I’m small, like dirt, something like that,” Chiqui says of the Orthodox community he lives in.

The film has a low-budget feel, looking like it was shot with a camcorder. But Heymann’s casual visual approach makes his subjects more tangible. He is able to maintain the film’s tone while unabashedly inquiring about the men’s lives. Even the mundane is fair game for cutting into a Paper Doll’s life.

“What I don’t get is, where do you hide your dick?” Heymann asks Chiqui.

Chiqui explains how he wears two pairs of shorts, with his penis tucked into the back of the first pair and the second pair to hold it in place. He also assures Heymann that this layering process doesn’t hurt.

Shortly after that, the film reveals that Heymann is homosexual and is ashamed of dressing like a woman. This brings a deeper connection between director and subject.

Despite this link, Heymann is able to shoot the film with objective detail. He doesn’t use the film to protect his friends from the reality of their rejection; rather, he uses it to show the trials and tribulations of their lives.

“That’s not Filipino drag,” a transvestite says after seeing the Paper Dolls’ performance. “Those are amateurs from the Central Bus Station.”

The men’s Paper Doll act is not a detailed and choreographed extravaganza performed by professionals. It’s five transsexuals lip-synching words to songs and fulfilling their desire to be on the stage. With close attention to their costumes, the men flip their boas and don tiaras. It’s through performance and exuberance that they gain a sense of security in a war-torn country.

At the climax of the movie Jan gets fired, which makes him an illegal immigrant in Israel. In tears, he explains that no matter how long or how hard a person works for an Israeli, Israelis feel that employees are disposable. But then Heymann goes on to show the genial and meaningful relationship Sally has with his employer. By doing this, Heymann dispels Jan’s preconceived notions of Israelis.

After all, people are people, unique in their own ways. Heymann picked an entertaining and dramatic group to prove this point.