"Of Gods and Men" Movie Review

"Of Gods and Men" is a movie loosely based on the book "The Monks of Tibhirine," which tells the true story of eight French Cistercian Trappist monks who were kidnapped in Algeria in 1996. Six of them were killed in mysterious circumstances.

Living in harmony with the surrounding Muslim community, the monks face a difficult decision whether to leave or stay when violence is brought to their region by a fundamentalist group.

"Of Gods and Men" is a poignant tale about the power of faith, its limits, humanity, power, violence, and corruption told primarily through the images and sounds of liturgy and rhythm. As the story moves through these rhythms of monastic and communal life, violence comes closer and closer to the brothers and their village. Throughout Algeria, gruesome acts of violence spread, including beheadings and massacres. Stories of violence elsewhere are made real when the terrorists show up at the monastery door seeking help for their wounded. Once the guns cross the threshold of the monastery, violence never truly leaves. Life shared in harmony with neighbors and in community is disrupted by both the military, which seeks to maintain its power, and the terrorists, which seek to gain power. Life shared with neighbors begins to be overtaken by conversation about violence, by acts of violence on family members, and by intimidation of villagers in the monastery's medical clinic. Within the monastic community, peace and harmony are disrupted as well. In deciding whether to leave the village to fend for itself or whether to stay and risk death, each brother embarks upon a journey of self discovery about the role of faith, sacrifice, commitment, peace, and love. A community built upon an ethic of peace must decide whether peace might entail a violent end for the brothers' own lives.

A complicated political backdrop of colonization and Muslim-Christian relationships frame the movie, but it moves quickly from the political to the human, which is what gives this movie its emotional and spiritual power. It is not concerned with making a political point; it is concerned with plumbing the depths of humanity.

How strong is faith? What does it mean to be a neighbor? When is suffering efficacious? Necessary? What does it mean to be human? What is peace? And, how far should one go to bear compassion in the world?

These are the questions this film poses. These are important questions for all of us to ask.

A slow and deliberate film, "Of Gods and Men" is the most faithful representation of contemplative life and what I would call "real faith" that I have seen on the big screen. Whether it's the faith of the villagers or of the brothers, the film shows the power of faith to hold communities together and how the depths of faith can terrify. I highly recommend this movie. It is beautiful and tragic and deeply moving. From the muezzins at the mosque to the chanting and singing of the monks, the sounds of this movie will stay with you.

Inception - A Review

I went and saw Inception, Christopher Nolan's new movie about dreams, reality, and guilt. Ostensibly about industrial espionage, the movie quickly moves from the basic heist/fantasy/espionage format and gives the audience and experience like no other. The movie is fantastic.

Okay, it felt a little long at times and don't spend too much time trying to make sense out of everything, and other than Leo DiCaprio's character (Dom Cobb), the other characters receive scant attention. Was this oversight due to time, focus, or, was it intentional? I didn't care. Inception is the most gorgeous movie I've seen in a long while - and by gorgeous I refer to something more inclusive than the movie's look. This is a gorgeous and rich film that plumbs the depths of human anguish and scratches its way through human hope. "Take a leap of faith" is said by more than one character (or is it?) throughout the movie.

On to the main "plot." It has become typical for corporations to hire highly trained teams to "extract" information from people while they dream; it's a new form of espionage. The challenge for this team, and for its team leader, Dom Cobb, aka the Extractor, is whether it is possible to "plant" new ideas inside of people while they dream. Is it possible for a team to delve inside of a person's dreams so that upon awakening this foreign idea feels native, real, as though it were their own thought? The general understanding is that such a procedure has never been done successfully, even though Cobb says that it has. So, with Cobb's leadership, the team undertakes a mission to plant an idea in the heir to an energy conglomerate. However, the real plot is about Cobb himself - his demons, his fantasies, his realities, his regrets, his pain, his love, his hope, his disappointment, his sorrow - his need for redemption. Through the movie, he is working those things out. He is on a quest to "go home." So, really, the rest is just an environment for his story (although the movie's insistent continuity in following its own internal rules is a fascinating thing to watch).

Critics reviewing Inception make the obvious comparison to Memento, another of Nolan's movies, during which he began the screenplay for Inception. And, it isn't far off the mark to see a little of The Matrix here, too. In the sense that this movie plays with reality and unreality, and dream versus reality, this is true, but Inception picks up on Momento's use of dream and unreality and creates something quite new. Momento pales in comparison to what Inception accomplishes. Nolan gives us a maze and we never know where we are or exactly where we are going, but I didn't feel "conned" (as some critics have felt). I trusted him to lead me on an adventure, and he did. It could be that the perfect reviews written early on skewed the experience for later reviewers. Perhaps the hype overshadowed the actual viewing experience. I think the movie lives up to the hype, but it does so in a sneaky way. While it will visually dazzle, in many ways this is an intimate movie. It wasn't made to be big. It does not rely upon FX for the sake of utilizing FX. Every movment, every visual, every scene goes to support the story.

During the last scene, you could hear a pin drop in the completely full theater where I saw it. The tension was palpable. And when the movie was over you heard audible gasps throughout the whole room and some shouts and applause. Simply put, that doesn't happen very often. It is visually rich and subtly acted. The screenplay, while very good, is a bit verbose and pedantic in the first third of the movie. The music, well, it will transport you. It's obvious that composer Zimmer and writer/director Nolan understand each other well. Zimmer composed the music for Batman Begins and The Dark Night, and you will hear influences from those scores, but this music was composed for this movie, and it is perfect. As an aside, the musical choice to use "Non, je ne regrette rien" was evidently made prior to Marion Cotillard joining the project, so, evidently the "La Vie en Rose" connection is coincidental. Weird, huh.

That's my review. If a narrative experience is more important than understanding, you may love this movie. I sum it up this way - a story about forgiveness, grief, and self-discovery wrapped inside of a sci-fi, fantasy, espionage, heist package.

update on spidey and forgiveness

It seems that searches for information about Spidey and forgiveness are quite the rage these days. I am having more hits than usual on this blog from people interested in exploring the theme and the movie. Sam Raimi is no stranger to exploring spiritual themes in his movies. It shouldn't be a surprise that he does it this time. What is interesting, though, is that he doesn't succumb to the temptation in Hollyobvious by hitting us over the head with overblown metaphors and imagery. Instead, the characters' need to seek and offer forgiveness is integrated throughout the storyline. Peter is Everyman, unlike Superman who is a Christ figure. Peter is just like you and me - flawed, timid, and searching. His path is neither straight nor fated. What happens in his life results from the choices that he makes - just like you and me. And the choices that he makes have repercussions for those around him. The same is true for the other characters in Spiderman 3. The formation of "Sandman" is the result of bad circumstances and worse choices. Marko Flint, driven by a need to take care of his child, commits a crime that culminates in the death of Peter's beloved uncle. Escaped from prison, he makes a series of even poorer choices that lead him into a situation in which he is transformed into the supervillain Sandman. Eddie Brock, driven by his ambition, chooses himself over others time and again until the same alien goo that turns Spidey black infects him, making Venom. Peter, Marko, and Eddie need forgiveness for the things that they have done and for the decisions that they have made. Peter's good friend Harry turned Goblin Jr. is driven by his need to avenge his father's death, which he attributes to Spiderman. And last, there is Mary Jane. She is hurt by the blackness growing inside of Peter and wounded by the hate growing inside of Harry. The betrayal that she experiences reminds her of her years growing up with an alcoholic father. Sam Raimi could have overdone any of these situations, but he doesn't. Instead, the superhero and his supervillains are humanized. They are wounded characters seeking a way back to wholeness. Some find this path and others don't. I'm excited to see so many people searching for information about the theme of forgiveness in this movie. Perhpas it has touched a nerve in people reminding us that we all need to extend a little forgiveness and we might even need to ask for it as well.

forgiveness looms large in spiderman 3

I saw Spiderman 3 today and was struck by importance of the theme of forgiveness. Throughout the movie, revenge and brokenness are challenged by the possibility of forgiveness.

Peter Parker's story picks up with life going very well for him and Mary Jane. New York loves Spidey. Peter Parker is doing well in school. And Mary Jane has a new play on Broadway. Of course this utopia can't hold together. Beginning with Peter's growing hubris, a string of events leads Peter into an inner struggle with revenge and ego. Mary Jane slides into a place of deep pain, recalling the feelings of loneliness she experienced in her childhood home and finding them lived out in her relationship with Peter. And Harry has to reach into the depth of grief while undergoing a difficult process to learn who he really is and what he's made of. Other characters also struggle with their limitations, from JJ Jameson's heart problems to the villains' (Marko Flint/Sandman and Eddie Brock/Venom) ambition and feelings of powerlessness. All of the characters in Spiderman 3 are seeking paths to forgiveness - for themselves and for others. And, we are shown just how difficult it can be to ask for it and to offer it. In a moment of great anger, Peter Parker tells Eddie Brock (soon to become Venom), "If you're looking for forgiveness, get religion" (or something close to that). Both Eddie and Peter run to a church in the moments of the deepest anguish. Not knowing what else to do, they go to the symbolic place of forgiveness.

What a gift it would be if our churches really were places of forgiveness, where people wounded by their pursuit of it (whether to give or receive it) could come and find something freeing for their souls. We live in a world that could benefit in exploring and rediscovering the power of forgiveness.

From a cinematic perspective, Spidey 3 is big. It is an epic. The effects are amazing. From a narrative perspective, it is a bit too long and convoluted. The story has too many characters and feels a bit choppy at times. But from a theological perspective, it hits the mark.

Children of Men - the Perfect Nativity Story

I absolutely LOVED "Children of Men!!"

I almost called this post "Children of Men v The Nativity: Supernatural Smackdown." In such a smack down, "Children of Men" kicks "The Nativity's" behind. The problem with this, of course, is that Children of Men isn't supernatural at all. It is Alfonso Cuaron's latest film in which the world has lost all hope - for a future and for its present. It is brilliantly held together by Clive Owen who plays Theo, a once-activist turned beaurocrat devoid of hope. Throughout the film we see Cuaron's take on the present and how much struggle we go through to recover hope. I am not going to write a review; I'm just urging you to see it. It's difficult to watch, but in a recent interview, Cuaron said that there is a lot in this world that is difficult. He got that right!

Here are some great interviews about the movie:
Cinematic Happenings Under Development interview with Cuaron
About.com's interviews with Cuaron and Clive Owen
BBC interview
Alfonso Cuaron on Charlie Rose