Quid Pro Quo

Isaac Knott (Nick Stahl) is a Public Radio reporter in New York City. When he was eight, his mother and father died in an automobile accident that left him in a wheelchair.

On air, Isaac recounts how he recently received an anonymous tip from someone identified only as "Ancient Chinese Girl." She tells him a perfectly able-bodied man walked into an emergency ward downtown, and attempted to bribe a doctor into amputating his leg.

As Isaac investigates the eerie tip, he encounters Fiona (Vera Farmiga) who, through her own quandary, leads Isaac to a netherworld of people afflicted with a perverse desire to be disabled. Like a contemporary noir detective film, QUID PRO QUO follows Isaac as he embarks on a dream-like journey to pull back the layers of what makes people feel whole.

To be released June 2008. Not sure when available on DVD.

Whole

WHOLE takes you into the world of people obessed with becoming an amputee. Some are "wannabes" while others succeed in ridding themselves of a limb.

They are (presumably) healthy people like Kees, a Dutchman who pretends to be an amputee up to five times a day; Dan, an American who loves to hike and bike in the French Alps; and George, a man so desperate he shot off his leg with a shotgun. This documentary reveals the impact the obsession has on loved ones, and also examines how medical professionals are dealing with the growing worldwide network of amputee wannabes. WHOLE also looks into the ethical, cultural and historical issues that surround this unusual psychiatric disorder.

From Netflix Blurb: Many of us dream of being more than we are -- but the subjects of this offbeat documentary actually want less. Following a mixed group of people who yearn to be amputees, filmmaker Melody Gilbert takes a hard look at a hard-to-believe subculture in which some folks live as "pretenders" and others have shed limbs on purpose. But the psychological disorder that drives their lives may end up destroying their relationships.

This is a disturbing, but important documentary.