This film recently played at Hot Docs, and both filmmakers attended the Q & A after screening. Definitely a thought provoking film, and the filmmakers don't shy away from letting the audience think about the 'moral' issues involved in this alternative methods of starting a family. I was personally struck about how similar the issues are around 'birth family relationships', whether the family is formed through adoption or surrogacy. Definitely disturbing what the world 'ideal' is when choosing an egg donor, and how it could be so at odds with the genetic make-up of the couple raising their so-called 'perfect' offspring. The film makes you think twice about an unregulated market, and dare I say, even think (in the Cdn. case) that out National controls on reproductive technology have some merit.
5 Reviews
Frozen Angels Provides a Vivid Look Into Our Ever-Growing Manmade Society
ameliasolum2 May 2005
This movie was written and directed by Eric Black and Frauke Sandig. This is their second collaboration in the documentary genre. The first one was called "After the Fall" about the Berlin Wall. This movie, however takes us into the real world of the creation of the "perfect" child. From the sperm donations to the surrogate mothers to the gene researchers etc. Showing the viewers that if you want a blue-eyed blonde-haired child, it can easily be done. Maybe a little too easily. I liked the fact that this documentary rung true. I set out to make the public aware of these man-made children and it did not sugar coat it or apologize for it. Very interesting film I would highly suggest you rent, especially if you are thinking of adopting, being a surrogate mother, donating eggs, or donating sperm.
A Turn-of-the-Millennium Snapshot of Alternative Reproduction
flimsyxcuse26 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
"Frozen Angels" is a Millennium-era snapshot of surrogacy and the ethics of eugenics. The film's noir-ish, Blade-Runner ethos and often-annoying score, disqualify it as a feel-good puff-piece on surrogacy and its surrounding issues. There are, though, a few moments of comic relief offered by the radio talk-show host who is somewhat the protagonist of the film who, in addition to his talk-show duties, apparently runs a clinic that offers eggs and legal help to would-be parents. The film is rich territory, however, in terms of being a record of contemporary views of well-intentioned people in the new industry of producing babies. From the bioethics of selecting the sex of your child, to the out-and-out design of a child, to the implications of people from third-world countries choosing blonde-haired, blue-eyed children {a preference I cannot fathom} because they feel it will offer their children advantages, the film presents more than enough material for any medical ethics convention. In one scene, an ordinary-looking blonde girl ( who is told by her handlers she is "pretty") is discussing her (paid, of course) egg "donation" to a couple. The girl is asked if she minds if the couple is two lesbians. The girl controls her shock for the camera and says it's something she never-ever considered {that is, "thought about in advance."} Who's shocked; raise your hand... All of this information is presented without overt narrative, but I won't say that the makers don't lean their message in a "cautionary" direction. Are certain things ethical and other things not, when it comes to 'alternative reproduction' (my term, not the movie's)? Is "the natural order of things" obsolete? How Big-Brother does this all sound when you hear people talk about humans as products? And most importantly, what are the unintended consequences of this whole "industry" as those in the process call it. This viewer's conclusion: having an IQ of 180 clearly offers little or no advantage.
Cold As Ice
Spuzzlightyear8 October 2005
Frozen Angels is a bit of a lost documentary on a particularly fascinating subject, female surrogate mothers. The film focuses on many different subjects, from a surrogate mom and parents-to-be, doctors, experts on the subject, et al. All of this is presented in a jumbled mess that is held together by, yes, a radio talk show host talking about surrogates. With daffy new age music playing in the background, the badly-edited film just keeps going and going and going, with no hints on when it would end. The REAL highlight of this film is the hilarious hidden sexual imagery in the film, what with the oil derricks, tunnels, trains, roller-coasters etc being shown, doesn't that get you in the mood?
Abnormal growth of sperm banks and surrogate mothers shown through a famous radio jockey.
FilmCriticLalitRao6 August 2008
Frozen Angels is a shocking documentary as it suggests that the normal way of producing babies has become outdated.This is the reason why we are shown that in the near future most of the babies would be manufactured as bottles of tomato ketchup are manufactured in factories.What is shocking about this film is its positive attitude vis à vis the growth of sperm banks and surrogate mothers.According to this film a surrogate mother exercise is carried out to make/produce/ create perfect,healthy,intelligent and beautiful babies.It must be noted that all this comes at a very heavy price.Apart from its weak moral stand,Frozen Angels appears to be a biased film as it has highlighted surrogate mothers'phenomenon only from rich people's perspective.What we see in Frozen Angels are a couple of frustrated rich people including a famous radio jockey who do not have time to make babies.As man has always misused science for his selfish motives,it is no wonder that these sperm banks and surrogate mothers would be grossly misused in order to create a society which would have many divisions based on a person's income,social status etc.If these things continue unabated,it is feared that our earth would be inundated with nothing but just frozen angels.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
