Every day Robert Saucedo shines a spotlight on a movie either so bad it’s good or just downright terrible. Today: Not your father’s pin-up calendar.
When brainstorming ideas for a picture calendar, one wouldn’t normally jump to idea to take the 12 months and accompany them with nude photographs of 12 people born disabled due to the side effects of Thalidomide, a stress reliving drug popular in the late fifties.
Niko von Glasow, himself a victim of the drug, did have the idea and NoBody’s Perfect chronicles his attempts to gather 11 other people who are willing to strip down and expose themselves — something that many of the victims of Thalidomide have long been uncomfortable doing.
Thalidomide was withdrawn in 1961 after it was discovered that the drug, when taken by pregnant women, was causing birth defects in children. The children were born with a condition called phocomelia, which causes limbs to be shaped like the flippers of a seal.
Glasow himself has long been uncomfortable with his nude body — mainly due to his sharp protruding shoulder blades and his short, stubby arms.
The calendar, the creation of which is the subject of the film, is not only a way to bring focus back on a group of people whose plight has generally been ignored, but for Glasow himself to come to terms with his body.
NoBody’s Perfect succeeds almost in its entirety due to the infectious charisma of Glasow. As the filmmaker travels Europe meeting and chatting with fellow victims of Thalidomide, it’s his sense of humor and frank discussion of his disability that helps audiences to connect with his life’s struggle.
Glasow and his fellow nude models share a black humor when discussing their predicament — using it as a means to cope with the curveball life has thrown to them.
Besides Glasow, the documentary’s subject matters are all interesting, engaging people with their own stories and quarks. From a scientist with a remarkable ID (and proclivity towards sexual harassment) to the sugary sweet housewife to a politician who worries the son whose currently serving in Iraq may return with his own deformities, NoBody’s Perfect offers an intimate look at the wide variety of personalities and fortitudes that were born out of one drug company’s mistake.
During the film, the victims of Thalidomide each have their own worries about taking nude photographs. Some are worried what their friends may think and others are worried about how their bodies will look — and, being flabby middle-aged men and women, not all are worried just about their limbs.
Glasow asks a lot of frank questions to his subjects — including whether or not they’ve ever considered suicide or if they have been able to retain their faith with all that has happened to them in life. They don’t have easy answers and neither does Glasow.
What’s most impressive about the subjects that Glasow has assembled for his film, though, is the fact that, for the most part, they all lead relatively normal lives. They have relationships, emotional weaknesses, careers and dreams.
As the film climaxes and Glassow and his subjects take their nude photographs, they (and the audience) are confronted with the stark beauty of a soul laid bare.
The documentary subjects in NoBody’s Perfect may all share similar deformities but they are all each their own person and, as they stand or sit in front of a sparse black curtain surrounded with representations of their lives, audiences are reminded that each of the subjects has faced their own separate struggles. They may not be the people they would have been if their mothers had not taken the drug, but some may be the stronger because of this.
Robert Saucedo offers the highest possible recommendation to watch “NoBody’s Perfect.” Follow Robert on Twitter @robsaucedo2500.
