Faithful film about a lack of Christian faith become religiosity. Shot in continuous takes, this is like watching a stage play where style and thematic content trumps mere characterization to make the film, itself, its own character – the actors merely facets of this one persona. The slow exposition and plot development work very much in its favor to cumulatively build towards a dramatic and spiritual climax that lingers long in the mind.
This movie is also a critique of gloomy death worshipping Christian fundamentalists who focus the bulk of their energies on the afterlife rather than this life. They do not so much love God as hate non believers; accurately reflecting the ongoing religious conflict between the different denominations and their differing interpretations of biblical scripture. That belief in earthly and fleshly miracles is required for such pseudo faith proves its falsity as well as its spiritual emptiness and shallow materialism.
Fascinatingly, this movie suggests that if Jesus Christ returned to earth, he would be regarded as a schizophrenic. This is an ascetic work of quiet and simple grace; an emotionally draining experience that is more than worthwhile: Nothing short of a cinematic miracle in its own right.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment