Jude Chehab’s Q is a breathtakingly complex documentary that looks at the intricacies of a matriarchal religious order in the lives of three generations of women.
8/10
Documentaries are an essential part of any film festival I have covered whether it was films like A House Made of Splinters, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, or Clean Slate. These are some of the best documentaries I’ve had the pleasure of watching at festivals like Nashville Film Festival, Sundance, and of course, Houston Cinema Arts Festival. I love watching documentaries because they provide a different outlook than narrative filmmaking. Now, there are some that are not as impactful as others but I think it is truly special when a documentary can blend narrative and documentary to create something truly remarkable. That’s what films like The Eternal Memory did for me this year and I am proud to say that Q does that and more.
Q is directed by Jude Chehab in her documentary feature film debut. Jude Chehab centers the film around the effects this matriarchal religious organization had on her mother, grandmother, and of course herself. It’s an examination of these three generations of women and what especially the head of the organization meant for them. Now, I need to be completely honest here because I feel like this is a very important thing to bring up before I continue on with my review. I do not mean to single out Q at all with this because I genuinely do think this is an incredible film that everyone should watch. As many of you know, I am visually impaired which hinders my ability to be able to read subtitles but I don’t let this ruin how many films I watch. I love international films but most of the time, I have to consume these films at home as it’s easier to read subtitles when they’re right in front of your face. I’ve long noticed this problem surrounding accessibility and it is not in any way exclusive to Q. At this point, I am begging filmmakers and distributors to please make your subtitles more accessible. I could not see a good amount of these subtitles because the white font with no stroke/border around it would blend in with colors and lighting in the film. This affected the way I experienced this film especially when it came to understanding what is happening in the film. I had the pleasure of exchanging some messages with Jude Chehab and she assured me that she would be changing this in the next DCP file, so thank you so much to Jude Chehab for listening to my concerns. Disabled moviegoers have long been ignored by the industry and I want to make sure everyone is able to consume the films they watch.
Nonetheless, Q is an incredible documentary and I fell completely in love with various aspects of the film. I loved the visual language that made the film feel very nostalgic. Every frame is crafted with so much consideration. Chehab uses a lot of archival footage of her childhood which helped me understand more of what the organization was like. Everyone is given the same amount of time to discuss the topic at hand. Of course, I was very drawn to the mother’s point of view but also including the father’s opinions presented an interesting outlook. Jude Chehab’s Q asks many questions that are worth noting. What does it mean to be devoted to your faith? How does unrequited love make us feel? I’m not sure we will ever have the answers to these questions but Q reminds us that we have to find them together as a community. I am interested to see what Chehab makes next. Q is one of the best films of the year and easily one of my favorite documentaries of this year. Make sure to watch this film whenever it makes its way to a screen near you.
The Nerd Corps 