I wanted the first documentary entry on this blog to be about a film that really got me hooked on documentaries. Even though this isn't my favorite documentary, or the best documentary I've ever seen, it is the one that seems to have stayed with me the most over the years.
This HBO documentary follows Justin Fatica, an in your face leader of the Hard as Nails youth ministry, an organization whose methods are so radical that they are being questioned, even by members of their own church.
We follow Justin and his group as they travel around, spreading the word of god at churches and even public schools. One of which tells them not to come back because the school did not have enough counselors to deal with the aftermath of the Tough As Nails presentation.
Something that is present too often in documentary is the filmmakers voice, they try and tell us what to think rather than allowing us to form our own opinion on the subject. They do through either editing or by voiceover.
What I appreciated most about Tough As Nails is that the filmmaker's voice is seemingly missing throughout the whole film. The viewer is allowed to watch the film and gather their own opinion about the subject (based on the IMDB message boards those opinions are very diverse).
Tough As Nails is an interesting film and well worth a watch no matter what your religious views are.
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