Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie Review

"Filmmaking" Is Also a Verb

Reviewed by Michael Reuben April 15, 2016

According to the director's note included with this Blu-ray, director Terry Spencer Hesser spent three years gathering material for her one-hour documentary, Love Is a Verb, on the charitable movement known as Hizmet (from the Turkish word for "service") inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen. She says she may write a book about "all of the things that didn't happen on camera". If she does, perhaps the book will illuminate Gülen's teachings and their inspirational power. The film certainly does not.

The best part of Hesser's documentary is the opening section, which provides an overview of the founding of modern Turkey as a secular state after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It's a useful primer on Turkey's unique position as an intermediary between Europe and the Muslim world. Once Hesser turns directly toward her subject, however, a curious opacity descends on the film. Although Gülen is the ostensible subject, Hesser provides no biographical information and scant coverage of Gülen's career as a preacher, imam or leader of a movement. The most she provides is a recitation of the attacks against Gülen and Turkish President Erdogan, after the former political allies split in 2013. The substance of their conflict is not explored. Admittedly, Erdogan is an easy target for condemnation—as of this writing, he is currently making news for pressuring Germany to prosecute comedians who mock him—but Hesser's simplistic contrast between the good man of God and the evil politician smacks of hagiography.

A film that traces how Gülen developed his notions of pluralism, service and sacrifice from the same holy text that inspired Shariah law (not to mention Al Qaeda and ISIS) would be invaluable, but Hesser prefers to follow a selection of doctors, teachers and humanitarians who, claiming Gülen as their inspiration, undertake good works in various locales, including dangerous hotspots like Somalia. These are extraordinary individuals, but service and self-sacrifice are not unique to Gülen's movement. The same qualities can be found in Christian missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers or members of Doctors Without Borders, and Love Is a Verb fails to connect the dots between such activities and Gülen's teachings or the organization under his umbrella.

Gülen has lived in the U.S. since 1999, long before his split with Erdogan. Hesser's failure to explore the circumstances of his exile, which are controversial, and her casual dismissal of his long-running disputes with Turkey's civilian government, are just several among the film's many questionable gaps.

Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

MPI Media's 1080i, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is a serviceable reproduction of Hesser's digitally shot interviews and documentary footage (photographed and partly co-directed by DP Stephan Mazurek). Historical news clips and photographs suffer from the limitations of their source. In a mastering oddity, MPI has included two copies of the film on a BD-50, which appear to have identical video encodes. The only apparent difference is the selection of subtitle options. (When the disc first loads, the viewer is prompted to choose between two groups of language options.)

Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the vast selection of subtitle options on Love Is a Verb bespeaks the filmmakers' desire to reach a worldwide audience, audiophile sound is not among their concerns, as evidenced by the Blu-ray's lossy DD 2.0 track. The track does its job, reproducing the narration by Ashley Judd clearly and the interviews as intelligibly as the speakers' English permits. (Many of the interviews in English have been subtitled to overcome heavy accents.)

Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The sole disc-based extra is a longer version of a 2012 interview with Fethullah Gülen (1080i; 1.78:1; 10:16), of which excerpts appear in the film. A printed insert contains a director's statement, filmmaker bios, credits and stills.

Love Is a Verb Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Western politicians and journalists routinely ask, "Where are the moderate Muslim leaders?" Gülen appears to fit the bill, but Hesser has failed to provide an effective introduction to the man, his teachings and his movement or to explore the controversies that swirled around Gülen and Hizmet long before Turkey's recent political turmoil.