Paternal Instinct
September 2005 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Paternal Instinct is about the desire to become a parent, a drive so strong for the male subjects of this documentary that they go to great lengths to achieve it. Erik and Mark, gay partners living in New York City, both come from traditional nuclear families and want children. They consider adoption but ultimately decide to find a surrogate mother and each father a child. The woman they find, Wen, is spiritual and earthy -- a modern-day witch and married mother of one. All three are open, verbal people, characteristics that allow them to talk through the disappointment of non-pregnancies and miscarriages, and the reality of fertility tests.

While the fact that Erik and Mark are gay may trouble some viewers, the movie doesn't have activism as a goal. It focuses on the hurdles that Erik and Mark have to clear again and again to become parents and in the process shows the true strength of their conviction. Erik, Mark and Wen discuss their mutual issues and concerns, and it is clear that when the children are finally born, they will have extraordinarily wise and understanding parents.

Extras include deleted and "bonus" scenes as well as a short multi-part interview with Harry Hay, a pioneering thinker in the gay-rights movement. Although he never says so explicitly, he clearly disagrees with the sentiments expressed in the movie and would argue that gay men and women hurt their culture when they attempt to integrate with heterosexual society, especially to have children of their own. I could only think that this material was included as counterpoint to and broader context for the movie's message, although I can't say that I thought it added anything. The video image is good, but it is obviously the product of videotape and not film, and the stereo sound is more than adequate given that the movie is essentially all dialogue.

I had no idea what to expect from Paternal Instinct before I watched it, but afterwards I could only think how fortunate Mark and Erik's daughters, Cecelia and Liv, were to have such persistent and loving parents. Don't let the potential social and political undertones of this movie affect your willingness to view it. If you're open-minded, you will have to admit after seeing it that sexual preference is irrelevant to how well someone is equipped to be a parent.

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