Life and something like it II: The Exorcism
I just went to see the Exorcism of Emily Rose, apparently a court room horror (as in it is set in a court room but is a horror story). It is not a horror, at least not in my mind (given that this is a person that watches movies such as the Exorcist, the Omen, the Shining, Psycho, and Ninth Gate to name a few) granted there are a number of scenes which caused me to jump and dig my fingers into my legs but it was not a horror. When I left the theatre I did not feel the goosebumps down my spine nor the icy hand of death rather most surprisingly I felt spiritually uplifted. Interestingly enough it was directed by a Christian director.
The portrayal of the demons (excepting the possible ove dramatisation of one of the demons naming himself as Lucifer) was impressive but what gripped me was the portrayal of the priest who performed the exorcism. His faith was awesome and simple, yet not simplistic. Though terrified when he confronted the demons he rested his faith in God and trusted in Him for his protection. When the demons named themselves as "the one who dwells within" the power with which the priest responds "And I am the one who comes in His name" is staggering. It is interesting in spite of the violence to other people and strength of the demons they but once touch the priest and that was merely a scratch that failed to draw blood.
This movie also had the interesting discussion of science and the bible. The ironic twist was that the Methodist God-fearing prosecutor was presenting a scientific case against the priest and was clearly skeptical and even downright disbelieving in any supernatural explanation. Whereas the self-confessed agnostic defence attorney was defending and even accepting the supernatural explanation. It was interesting to see a comparison of the supernatural and the scientific approaches to and solution to Emily's problem and there were even flashback's with alternative explanations to her injuries and expriences other than those recounted by the defense. While from my point of view the movie seemed to be presenting the supernatural explanation as the best explanation of events the scientifc was given as much time.
Finally this movie is written from a Catholic faith paradigm. Therefore there are points in which the priest prays to Michael and Mary. And another where the Virgin is reported as having appeared in a vision. However, I did not think that this was too bad as it was representing faithfully what the Catholics believe and being told from their point of view this would probably be how they would interpret events.
In conclusion I would say that to any person Christian or not, Protestant or Catholic, that this is a movie well worth a watch, at least if you can handle horror scenes. I think it definately discusses and makes the supernatural a very real possibility. As a movie as a whole it sort of seemed not to climax completely although this may be due to the lights in the cinema coming on during one of the crucial scenes of the movie. This broke the spell of the movie. But worth a watch. For other stuff take a look at the site.
The portrayal of the demons (excepting the possible ove dramatisation of one of the demons naming himself as Lucifer) was impressive but what gripped me was the portrayal of the priest who performed the exorcism. His faith was awesome and simple, yet not simplistic. Though terrified when he confronted the demons he rested his faith in God and trusted in Him for his protection. When the demons named themselves as "the one who dwells within" the power with which the priest responds "And I am the one who comes in His name" is staggering. It is interesting in spite of the violence to other people and strength of the demons they but once touch the priest and that was merely a scratch that failed to draw blood.
This movie also had the interesting discussion of science and the bible. The ironic twist was that the Methodist God-fearing prosecutor was presenting a scientific case against the priest and was clearly skeptical and even downright disbelieving in any supernatural explanation. Whereas the self-confessed agnostic defence attorney was defending and even accepting the supernatural explanation. It was interesting to see a comparison of the supernatural and the scientific approaches to and solution to Emily's problem and there were even flashback's with alternative explanations to her injuries and expriences other than those recounted by the defense. While from my point of view the movie seemed to be presenting the supernatural explanation as the best explanation of events the scientifc was given as much time.
Finally this movie is written from a Catholic faith paradigm. Therefore there are points in which the priest prays to Michael and Mary. And another where the Virgin is reported as having appeared in a vision. However, I did not think that this was too bad as it was representing faithfully what the Catholics believe and being told from their point of view this would probably be how they would interpret events.
In conclusion I would say that to any person Christian or not, Protestant or Catholic, that this is a movie well worth a watch, at least if you can handle horror scenes. I think it definately discusses and makes the supernatural a very real possibility. As a movie as a whole it sort of seemed not to climax completely although this may be due to the lights in the cinema coming on during one of the crucial scenes of the movie. This broke the spell of the movie. But worth a watch. For other stuff take a look at the site.
1 Comments:
lajoiy this time which is potuguese for tenpin bowling
Post a Comment
<< Home