Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
John AndersonJanuary 16, 2012

Since 1895, the magnification of the human image and the exaltation of human experience for the purposes of cinema have influenced how people see themselves, define relationships, conduct behavior, kiss, walk, act cool and perceive their place in the universe.

This image is not always elevating, of course. Many examples of human behavior in the movies are negative. But there is no escaping that the moviegoer can develop an intimate connection with the screen. Inhibitions are dissolved. Bonds are formed. Souls are silently bared, which explains the fury with which some people react to intrusions into their movie-induced cocoons brought on by ringing cellphones, yammering voices and the truculent light of texting, all of which burn a hole in the velvety darkness of a theater (as if someone barged into the confessional selling life insurance).

Under ideal moviegoing conditions, the viewer surrounded by others still inhabits his or her own womblike space and occupies as receptive a state regarding matters spiritual as he or she is likely to do in the course of an otherwise secular day.

This year, there has been no shortage of relevant stimuli at the multiplex, though some of it has come from the oddest places. “Cowboys & Aliens,” for instance, which probably grossed $100 million or so less than Universal would have liked, proclaimed a rather cogent message about the “fraternity of man”: When faced with a common enemy, even cowboys, Indians and bad guys can come together to save the world from evil, gooey space aliens—unlikely allies indeed, but created in God’s image nonetheless. Who created the evil, gooey space aliens? That was not a theological question the movie cared to investigate. But “Cowboys” was not a serious movie, certainly not about the nature of the universe, any more than the grotesquely profitable “Breaking Dawn” (or any other vampire movie) is a serious consideration of life after death. (One would be better off watching “Walking Dead” on AMC.) The exploitation of religion, whether implied or explicit, has always been part of the movies, the aim being a borrowed credibility meant to validate the most outlandish concept.

This year, the exploitation tactic seemed on its way to becoming entrenched and intractable.

Among those entertainments that might be termed “biblical burlesque” was “11-11-11,” released, naturally, on Nov. 11, 2011, involving false prophets, the Beast, the Man of Sin and very little that was revelatory. Close on its heels was the exhausting “Immortals,” a hodgepodge of Greek and Roman mythology, excessive violence, lazy history and deities as martial artists; it was enough to give polytheism a bad name. These are ludicrous examples of a trend that elsewhere, however, found movies with genuine spiritual intentions (some realized, some not). Often these were endowed with a sense of aspiration that was inspirational.

Chief among them (reviewed in America on June 6, 2011) was “The Tree of Life,” Terrence Malick’s polarizing meditation on everything from the director’s own upbringing in 1950s suburban Texas to the Creation itself. No one seemed indifferent to what Malick was doing. Responses ranged from exhilaration to outright hostility. (In Connecticut, an art-house theater operator had to post a sign at his box office, warning that there would be no refunds for “The Tree of Life.” Proceed at your own risk.) What seemed more important to this viewer was Malick’s reach, whether or not it exceeded his grasp. Striving for euphoria is itself euphoric. To critique this movie for an opaque storyline would be like deriding an artist-of-epiphanies like Mark Rothko for not making representational paintings or snarking at William Faulkner for using long sentences. You would simply be missing the point.

Unlike Malick’s oblique approach to the divine, several other movies this past year took a head-on approach to spirituality, which, as every savvy filmgoer knows, or should, is precisely not how it’s done. You do not make a movie about hubris by telling a story about hubris. You do it by telling the story of a newspaper tycoon named Kane. You do not create a timeless classic about undying devotion by putting two mooncalf teenagers together on a beach; you do it through a cynical bar owner and his lost lover in wartime Casablanca. It is very unlikely that you can make a convincing movie about a spiritual journey by making a movie about—literally—a spiritual journey. That is what Emilio Estevez did this year with “The Way,” a well-intentioned train-wreck of religious cinema.

Instead, you do it with a movie like “Of Gods and Men” (rev. 2/21/11), as ennobling a story about faith as has ever been made, precisely because it was about men questioning their faith.

Directed by the Frenchman Xavier Beauvois and based on a true-crime story about the abduction and beheading of seven Cistercian monks by Islamic extremists in Algeria in the mid-’90s, “Of Gods and Men” was suspenseful, entertaining and profound. The hard-working Trappists at hand, threatened with real and unimaginable violence by Islamic fundamentalists, are forced to confront the meaning of their lives, their vocations, their beliefs, their purpose. The specter of death, no longer an abstract construct, haunts their existence. The very concrete collision of faith and mortality makes for the most stirringly religious movie of this year, or any year in recent memory.

Why was “Of Gods and Men” such a rare gem? Because the movies are a mass medium devoted to sating the appetites of viewers accustomed to predigested concepts and uncomplicated thought.

Most of the movies this year that used Christian imagery or beliefs generally did so to either ham-handed or facetious effect. “Soul Surfer,” the oh-so-deliberately “inspirational” story of a young athlete whose arm is bitten off by a shark yet who makes a spiritual and professional recovery, was so obvious that even some of those inclined to buy its message were turned off by its tactics. At the other end of the spectrum is “Red State,” by Kevin Smith, a comic-book entrepreneur, provocateur and practicing Catholic. Smith imagined an apocalyptic Christian sect so satirically evil that viewers had to take it as a joke or else take offense, not because the characters were implausible but because they were so clumsily constructed.

The execution of movie art, regardless of content or context, can have an exalting effect on the viewer, especially when his or her best instincts are addressed. “Melancholia,” an end-of-the-world movie by that problematically great Dane, Lars von Trier, did not delve into any questions of literal immortality, but the humanity of the film’s characters possessed a divine spark. So did the documentary “My Reincarnation,” by Jennifer Fox, which took 20 years to make. Fox followed a Tibetan Buddhist teacher from callow youth, through the disavowal of his spiritual destiny to mature manhood reconciled with his mission on earth. One need not embrace these beliefs to appreciate the journey, because the story is transcendent—much like “The Tree of Life,” “Of Gods and Men” and other films this year that simply, sometimes eloquently, exceeded our expectations.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Des Farrell
12 years 2 months ago

Very readable article, perfect tone in dealing with the nonsense of Hollywood. However.... A little harsh on Esteves' The Way, watching Martin Sheen jump into the river was worth the price of admission! I think it also made a few bucks too.

'Of Gods And Men', as you say, is in a different league. 
ANNALEE HULBURT
12 years 2 months ago

Of Gods and Men was powerful.  I've seen it 5 times now, the second time being one night on my silent retreat last summer.  At that moment I felt just like Br. Luc, when he tenderly touched Jesus' wound and pressed his head onto the portrait - "we" both wanted to just climb inside!  But I have to defend Soul Surfer and The Way, for 2 reasons: my 18 yr old son, who walked the Camino for WYD this summer, and my 14 yr old daughter, who connected with the young Bethany.  My two youngest kids found reasons to believe - standing not on my faith, but for themselves.  To me that makes up for holes in the plots, bad dialogue or exaggerated 'inspiration" as you say.

I've been dragged to every vampire movie, painfully sometimes twice, and to equally as many action adventures, but the only poster that's on my daughter's wall is for Soul Surfer.  I have not seen The Way, but the boys my son went on pilgrimage with saw it as a group, and liked it.

Each of us has a different maturity, a different spirituality, and so I say to filmmakers, "Bring it on!"  Any movie that contemplates some sort of religious experience/encounter -although I hope for positive more than negative - allows us all to find our own truth, where we are at that time.  At least the films give a nod to a creative salvific force - if not directly to The Creator- that's outside ourselves.

Des Farrell
12 years 2 months ago

Very good comment. Not that this is really part of this article but my favorite priest on film is Karl Malden in On The Waterfront, giving Marlon a good punch on the snozz! Although I've just thought of Gregory Peck teasing the Nazis in the Scalet and the Black, that's a cracking movie thanks to the wonderful Christopher Plummer too! And in fairness I think the Exorcist works so well is not because of the silly special effects but because of the multi layered portrayal of the young Jesuit doctr by the perfectly cast Jason Miller. I suspect William O'Malley is guilty of helping out there too, along with writing such brilliant books.

Lee Moisant
12 years 2 months ago

Mr Anderson's one-sentence dismissive reference to "The Way" as a "train-wreck of religious cinema" is unwarranted given the positive popular response the film has generally received. People typically don't recommend watching train wrecks as an edifying experience. Yet I have heard this film praised by widely disparate sources for its deeply intimate portrayal of communal pilgrimage as a means of personal healing.  How one chooses to define "pilgrimage" depends upon individual experience and point of view.  But for many people, "The Way" has apparently connected with a deep-seated desire for restoring to their lives healthy relationships with others and themselves. 

As noted by Phil Cousineau in his insightful book, "The Art of Pilgrimage" - "When life has lost its meaning, a pilgrim will risk everything to get back in touch with life...This is what the risk is for, the confirmation that the mystery exists at all in a modern world seemingly determined to undermine the sacred as mere superstition."

Rediscovering the mystery of life is usually achieved in unexpected ways for those having the courage or desperation to seek it out.  This what Emilio Estevez explores in his understated film.  It deserved a more thoughtful analysis from Mr Anderson.

The latest from america

"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024
The paradox at the heart of Christianity is that we must die in order to live again. And few movies witness to that truth like “Romero” (1989).
John DoughertyMarch 28, 2024